Women’s cricket coach banned for 20 years over ‘utterly reprehensible’ conduct --[Reported by Umva mag]

A coach and former international player has been banned from holding any position within Australian cricket for 20 years after allegations of ‘utterly reprehensible’ conduct.

Dulip Samaraweera, who played seven Test matches and five one-day internationals for Sri Lanka, has been accused of behaviour which will ‘shock and upset many in the cricket community’.

The 52-year-old joined Cricket Victoria’s women’s coaching staff in 2008 and was named interim head coach in November 2023.

Samaraweera was appointed to the full-time role in May this year but resigned less than two weeks later.

Following an investigation by Cricket Australia’s Integrity department and the Conduct Commission, Samaraweera was found to have committed a ‘serious breach’ of clause 2.23 of the CA’s Code of Conduct.

This concerns conduct ‘contrary to the spirit of cricket, is unbecoming of a representative or official, is or could be harmful to the interests of cricket, or does or could bring the game of cricket into disrepute’.

After being found to have engaged in behaviour that Cricket Victoria described as ‘utterly reprehensible’, Samaraweera has been banned from holding any position within Cricket Australia or a State or Territory Association for 20 years.

Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins said in a statement: ‘We strongly support the decision taken by the Code of Conduct Commission today, banning Dulip Samaraweera for 20 years.

‘It is our view that the conduct was utterly reprehensible and a betrayal of everything we stand for at Cricket Victoria.

‘The victim in this case has demonstrated incredible strength of character and courage in speaking up. She will continue to receive our ongoing support to allow her to achieve her goals on and off the field.

‘From an organisation perspective, the safety and wellbeing of everyone at Cricket Victoria is paramount. We will not tolerate any behaviour which compromises that position, or our people, and will always support our culture of speaking up.’

The Australian Cricketers’ Association supported Cricket Australia’s verdict, with chief executive Todd Greenberg saying: ‘These are extremely serious findings that may shock and upset many in the cricket community.

‘The safety and wellbeing of our members remains paramount. The leaders in Australian Cricket now need to ensure that every possible measure is taken to ensure things like this never happen again.’

Samaraweera, a former top-order batter and part-time bowler, failed to score a fifty in 18 innings for Sri Lanka. He averaged almost 40 in first-class cricket, making 16 centuries.

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