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The Instagram post still haunting WBBL star

Emily Smith (pictured centre) wicket keeping for the Hurricanes.
Emily Smith (pictured centre) of the Hurricanes in action during the Women's Big Bash League match. (Getty Images)

WBBL star Emily Smith has been left out of the Hobart Hurricane squad a year after being handed a ban from the game after an Instagram joke backfired.

Last year, Smith posted the Hurricanes WBBL team line-up to Instagram an hour before it was officially released by her team for the clash with the Sydney Thunder.

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The wicketkeeper's prank, supposedly intended to lightheartedly highlight her position well down the batting order in a match which was later washed out, was still seen by Cricket Australia as breaking their strict Anti-Corruption Code.

Smith was handed a 12-month ban (nine-months suspended) for breaching the code.

The ban was considered very harsh from icons in the game such as Shane Warne, Isa Guha, Michael Vaughan and players’ union reps Shane Watson and Alyssa Healy.

Unfortunately, the ban mostly wiped out her involvement for the previous WBBL season.

Despite the completion of the ban, the ban has appeared to hurt her chances in the current season.

Smith left out of WWBL squad

She has been left out of the WBBL squad for the Hurricanes for the up-coming season.

While Smith missed out on the current squad, Smith is in contention for the Tasmania’s WNCL plans.

She is also on the fringe of the WBBL squad after being flown into the ‘Village’ in Sydney, which under the rules could see her get selected for another team.

But unfortunately, the impact of the ban has taken a toll on her WBBL chances despite many people within the game not agreeing with Cricket Australia’s (CA) harsh stance.

CA’s harsh ban comes off the back of a stringent education system for players around anti-corruption due to years of being targeted from illegal bookmakers from the subcontinent.

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