July 30, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 29, 1424

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SYDNEY, July 29: Australian cricket officials want to close the loophole which has allowed Shane Warne to play in charity and testimonial matches while serving a ban for doping offences.

Cricket Australia (CA) had originally banned Warne from all forms of cricket while he served a 12-month suspension for a failed drug test.

But they were forced to let him play in charity and testimonial matches after an independent arbitrator ruled that their existing policies did not specifically cover social matches.

Chief executive James Sutherland said CA was happy to comply with the independent arbitrators findings but would review its existing policies and codes to ensure the loophole is closed.

“We had believed we had this right under our Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) but accept the umpire’s ruling that this is not the case,” Sutherland said in a statement released on Tuesday.

“We now need to review our codes to determine whether it is appropriate to make changes to reflect what we believe the spirit of cricket demands.”

Warne, the most successful leg spinner in Test history, was banned from cricket for 12 months after testing positive for diuretics in February.—Reuters