Jason Roy has been banned for two England matches - but is free to play immediately as part of an ECB cover up.
In a cryptic release the reason for the ban has not been revealed with the ECB taking the unusual step of keeping the details secret. The England white ball opener was given the sanction following a secret hearing with the Cricket Discipline Commission for behaviour that may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the game of cricket, the ECB and himself into disrepute.
The two-game ban has been suspended for 12 months dependent on ‘good behaviour’ while he also has a £2,500 fine to pay before the end of the month. Roy is currently overseas with his family while he takes a short, indefinite break from the game before returning to play for Surrey.
It is unclear precisely what Roy did, since both the CDC and the ECB have deliberately kept the details hidden, including which members of the panel heard the charge. From 2020 the CDC regulations were altered declaring that the full judgement of a CDC hearing should be published in writing on the ECB’s website. This could be avoided if the panel decided there was an appropriate reason for it to only be published in part or not at all.
Fellow England player Ollie Robinson received an eight match ban with five suspended for breaching the same ECB directive 3.3 with a series of offensive and discriminatory historic tweets that were discovered in 2021.
At the time the ECB said that they would be conducting a social media review to address any historical issues and remind individuals of their personal responsibility going forward. They also suggested that players would learn lessons along the way with then ECB chair Ian Watmore saying: "We will sanction them when they fall short.”
