Sam Fanning to miss start of next season after ban for pitch tampering

Sam Fanning, the Western Australia batter, will be ineligible for state selection early next season after being suspended from Premier Cricket for pitch tampering.

Fanning, 22, was given a four-game ban after being found guilty following last weekend's WA Premier Cricket final between Perth CC and Bayswater-Morley CC at Lilac Hill.

Footage showed Fanning scraping his spikes on the protected area of the pitch after the first day's play during which he had scored 123 from 197 balls and was later named Player of the Match.

"WA Cricket expects high standards of behaviour from all contracted players, on and off the field. We were disappointed to learn of the incident involving Sam, which did not reflect our values," WA Cricket's general manager of high performance Kade Harvey said in a statement.

"Alongside the penalty, we will work with Sam and provide an education and development plan in line with living our values and making better decisions moving forward."

Fanning, who previously represented Australia Under-19s, made his Sheffield Shield debut during the 2022-23 season in which Western Australia claimed back-to-back titles. He made 61 against New South Wales at the SCG, the only half-century of the match in what became a low-scoring affair on a turning wicket.

He had also scored a half-century against India in a T20 World Cup warm-up match at the WACA.