West Indies wicketkeeper Devon Thomas banned from cricket for five years

West Indies wicketkeeper Devon Thomas banned from cricket for five years

West Indies wicketkeeper Devon Thomas has received a five-year ban from cricket, after admitting to seven anti-corruption breaches.

Thomas, who won 34 caps across all three international formats between 2009 and 2022, has been rendered ineligible by the International Cricket Council, which has suspended the final 18 months of the sanction and backdated the punishment by a year.

The 34-year-old's offences were in three separate tournaments - the Caribbean Premier League, the Lanka Premier League and the Abu Dhabi T10.

The most serious charge saw Thomas accept he was guilty of contriving to be party to match-fixing attempts in the Sri Lanka-based tournament, while he also admitted several charges of failing to report illegal approaches to the authorities.

Alex Marshall, general manager of the ICC's integrity unit, said: "Having played both international and professional domestic/franchise cricket, Devon attended numerous anti-corruption education sessions.

"He therefore knew what his obligations were under the anti-corruption codes but failed to meet these obligations across three different franchise leagues.

"This ban is apt and should send a strong message to players and corrupters that attempts to corrupt our sport will be dealt with firmly."

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