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Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques has labelled Tom Curran’s four-game Big Bash League suspension for intimidating an umpire an “assassination of character”.
Speaking on Fox Sports’ pregame coverage of the Sixers’ clash against the Adelaide Strikers at the SCG on Friday night, Henriques said he “doesn’t understand” the suspension.
“We obviously don’t condone any behaviour untoward towards the umpire or any or any umpiring staff, but I still … don’t understand the decision,” he said.
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“I also don’t have all the information at hand, but I guess I’ve known Tom for a long time, played with him at Surrey, he’s been a big part of the Sixers for a long time and I just can’t help but think … we haven’t quite understood the context of the altercation.
“He’s a great man, he’s a real leader in the community, he’s a leader amongst our team.
“I’m still struggling to comprehend that sort of penalty for what he’s done.”
Henriques said he was on the field when the incident took place during warm-ups ahead of the Sixers clash with the Hurricanes in Launceston on December 11.
He said neither he nor any of the other Sixers players thought anything of the incident at the time.
He said while the footage of the incident “doesn’t look great”, he said the clips removed some of the context.
“There was a bit of communication before and after that hasn’t been released either.”
But the clip broadcast on Channel Seven on Thursday night showed Curran was directed by the umpire not to run on the pitch.
SEN reported Curran then called the umpire a “f—head”.
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A statement on Thursday night said Curran had been charged with “intimidation or attempted intimidation of an Umpire, Match Referee or Medical Personnel whether by language or conduct (including gestures) during a match”.
The Sixers have officially begun the appeal process, but no timeline has been set on when the appeal will be heard, given the difficulty of organising an appeals hearing on a weekend, and so close to Christmas.
“It took 10 days just to get a hearing in the first place, which is very unusual anyway,” Henriqes said.
Curran missed the Sixers’ thrilling last-ball one-run win over the Strikers, and will almost certainly miss the Sixers’ next match against the Stars.
But after that, the Sixers’ next match isn’t until January 3.
As it stands, Curran won’t be available for the Sixers until the Sydney Smash against the Thunder on January 12.
Henriques said the Sixers playing group and staff were “in behind” their star import.
“It’s been a pretty tough time for TC over the last sort of 11 days sitting on this,” he said.
“Knowing what he’s like, he’s taken it to heart and he’s really worried about the assassination of the character there.
“Four games is big, especially for a player of his stature.
“He does everything – he bats, bowls, fields, he’s great off the field with our fans, so he’s a big loss to the group.”
Test legend Mark Waugh said Curran’s actions were “silly”, but said four games “was a bit too much”.
“He did the wrong thing, we know that (but) I would’ve given him two games and put him on a suspended sentence, and then if he does it again then a more severe punishment.”
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