Updated October 30, 2018 13:41:06

The executive of the Australian Cricketers' Association says Cricket Australia has a "moral obligation" to lift the bans of former Test captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft over the ball-tampering affair.

Their response comes a day after the release of damning reviews of Australia's cricket culture.

"Given the new and damning findings of CA's own independently commissioned Longstaff Review that found CA was also causally responsible for the events in Cape Town, the ACA calls on the CA Board to lift the imposed suspensions on the three players, effective immediately," the association said in a statement.

"The sanctions should be recalibrated to allow this. The ACA does not call for a quashing of the sanctions. Let them play."

Why is it that only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft have been punished, and not Cricket Australia's administrators, asks David Mark.

The report, released yesterday, found that CA is perceived to be "arrogant and controlling", the consensus being that the organisation does not live up to its values, further accusing CA of not handling situations which go against them well by reverting to "bullying tactics or worse, ostracising".

The review also described Australia's players as living in a "gilded bubble - disconnected, for much of each year, from families, friends and the grounding influence of community".

ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson said the new evidence demonstrated Cricket Australia was "causally responsible" for the events in South Africa.

"The sanctions were handed down without the understanding of the climate and the culture that the team was involved in," he said.

"We're not saying what they're doing was right. But they're sentences [that] with this new evidence need to now be recalibrated and reviewed. Natural justice now needs to happen."

Smith and Warner received year-long bans — which run out in March next year — for their part in the events in the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

Bancroft, who was the one to apply sandpaper to the ball, was given a nine-month suspension. His ban will end in late December.

'These guys have suffered'

ACA president Greg Dyer said the review was "hugely significant" and demonstrated that the players were not solely responsible for the ball-tampering incident.

The ACA will make a submission directly to Cricket Australia's board calling for the bans to be lifted, but CA has repeatedly indicated it would not consider lifting the bans.

"I've been in the commercial world for 30 years and I've never seen a report which is as harsh in its commentary of a corporate culture as this one," Dyer said.

"With this new information, common sense, common decency, common fairness and proportionately … and natural justice demands that the punishments be reduced."

Dyer said the association had spoken to the players involved but emphasised that the call for the lifting on their suspensions was not the players' idea.

It is evident from the culture review that the CA board sits at polar opposites to the players and until that relationship is fixed, cricket in Australia will not heal, writes Tracey Holmes.

He argued that the report highlights that the players have shouldered a disproportionate level of blame.

"We are not apologists for the players, [but] there are other contributing factors to what happened in South Africa.

"The players understand the need for change. The players have so far accepted 100 per cent of responsibility for culture of Australian cricket — and that's not fair."

The ACA will make its submission to Cricket Australia in the next 48 hours but did not reveal what steps it would take should CA not take action.

"When we get further down the road, we will consider other options," Nicholson said.

"These guys have suffered … having spoken to those guys over the last few months there is genuine contrition around this and they just want to get back and play for their country again."

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First posted October 30, 2018 11:14:55