Suspended duo expected to start the season but won't face off until November
Smith, Warner set for club return
Pencil September 22 into your diary as the date Steve Smith and David Warner are expected to make their Premier Cricket return this summer.
Smith’s Sutherland is set to host Mosman at Glenn McGrath Oval in Caringbah, while Warner’s Randwick-Petersham will face St George at Coogee Oval.
While the availability of Smith and Warner is yet to be finalised, it is expected the pair will play the opening rounds and a solid chunk of the season.
Both Sutherland and Randwick-Petersham have been given back-to-back home games to start the Premier Cricket season, which commences with one-day matches in Round 1 before moving to two-day contests in Round 2.
The hope of a blockbuster start to the season that would have seen Smith face Warner was put on ice until Round 5 on November 10, when Sutherland and Randwick-Petersham square off in a one-dayer at a venue yet to be decided.
That match is sandwiched between two Gillette ODI series matches, where Australia and South Africa will lock horns at Adelaide Oval (Nov 9) and Hobart’s Blundstone Arena (Nov 11).
Smith and Warner were banned from representing their country and competing in domestic competitions in Australia, including the KFC Big Bash League, for 12 months following the Cape Town ball-tampering incident, but have been encouraged to participate at club level by Cricket Australia.
Along with their suspension, Smith, Warner and rookie opener Cameron Bancroft must undertake 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket.
All three suspended players have returned to cricket in some form since the events at Newlands.
Warner and Bancroft have played in the NT Strike League in Darwin, while Warner and Smith have featured in the Global T20 league in Canada and the ongoing Caribbean Premier League.