Megan Schutt Banned for Two Matches Over Prescription Medication Breach

Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt has been banned for two matches after breaking rules on prescription medication, Cricket Australia announced on Thursday.

The governing body said Schutt failed to follow its Sports Science and Sports Medicine guidelines on prescription drugs. Cricket Australia's statement described the breach as a single incident that happened outside competition. It said the medication was not taken for performance-enhancing purposes, meaning it was not used to gain an advantage on the field.

Schutt apologised for the breach. She said she fully accepts the penalty for failing to meet the standards expected of her.

The suspension covers all international and domestic cricket, so she cannot play for Australia or for any state or club side during it. Her first match was lost before she could play it. Rain washed out Australia's Twenty20 international against New Zealand in Sydney on Thursday night, meaning the game was abandoned without a result, and that counted as her first match served.

Her second match is expected to be the opening game of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition, when Adelaide Strikers play Melbourne Stars on 31 October. A Twenty20 match is a short game, with each side batting for 20 overs, or six-ball sets of bowling.

Two matches may sound like a short break. Because the ban reaches into domestic cricket as well as the international game, it touches every team Schutt could turn out for in the coming weeks. For a bowler, that means missed overs and missed chances to build form, even if the suspension itself is brief.

Schutt is a fast bowler, and the penalty is the first step in a process that has now been settled. The statement did not give further detail on the medication itself.