Hobart Hurricanes wicketkeeper Emily Smith has been handed a 12-month ban for breaching Cricket Australia’s anti-corruption code for posting a restricted video on her personal Instagram account.

Smith was found guilty of posting a video on her personal Instagram account from the restricted Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA) that included the Hurricanes’ team line-up an hour before the scheduled official release on Saturday, November 2. The match was eventually abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled.

According to the CA statement, the 24-year-old has been ruled ineligible to participate in any form of cricket for a year, with nine months being suspended. In effect, this rules her out of all matches till March, including the remainder of the ongoing WBBL and the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), which ends in February.

The weather hasn't cleared in Burnie, and unfortunately our match today against @ThunderWBBL has been abandoned. We'll be back tomorrow though, with less rain!#TasmaniasTeam pic.twitter.com/X6vQRo2N5i

— Hobart Hurricanes Women (@HurricanesWBBL) November 2, 2019

Team line-ups can be used in illegal betting on games, and in fantasy league competitions that have cash prizes. Article 2.3.2 of CA’s Anti-Corruption Code makes the player liable for punishment for, ‘Disclosing Inside Information to any person (with or without Reward) where the Participant knew or might reasonably have known that such disclosure might lead to the information being used in relation to Betting in relation to any Match or Event.’

The Code further adds: ‘Any potential offence under this Article will be considered on its own set of facts and the particular circumstances surrounding any relevant disclosure. For example, it may be an offence under this clause to disclose Inside Information: (a) to journalists or other members of the media; and/or (b) on social networking websites where the Participant knew or should reasonably have known that such disclosure might lead to the information being used in relation to Betting.’

While the CA head of integrity and security Sean Carroll acknowledged that Smith did not breach the code intentionally, he did serve a warning. “CA’s rigorous anti-corruption player education programme means that players are well aware of their obligations under the Anti-Corruption Code and there is no excuse for breaches regardless of the reasons for information being disclosed.”

“We have been working with Emily throughout the process and Emily now understands the mistake she made. We hope this serves as reminder to all that the Anti-Corruption Code is critical to protecting the integrity of the game,” he added.

Hurricanes have five games left in the season. Currently, they have just two wins from their eight completed games. They have brought in Tasmanian Tigers’ wicketkeeper Emma Mannix-Geeves to replace Smith for the remainder of the current season on a special exemption.