Megan Schutt suspended for two matches over prescription medication breach, misses NZ T20 and WBBL opener

Australian fast bowler Megan Schutt has been suspended for two matches for breaching Cricket Australia's (CA) rules on prescription medication, CA announced on Thursday 22 October, Dawn reported from an AFP report. Schutt, 33, misses Australia's third and final T20 international against New Zealand on Thursday and the Adelaide Strikers' opening match of the Women's Big Bash League later this month.

What she did

CA said Schutt breached "requirements under the Sports Science and Sports Medicine guidelines with regard to prescription medication". It called it a single incident, out of competition, and said it was not for performance-enhancing purposes. CA did not name the medication. It said it would keep supporting Schutt while reinforcing the standards it expects of everyone who represents the game.

This is a breach of CA's own medical guidelines, not an anti-doping violation, which is why the penalty is counted in matches rather than months or years.

What Schutt said

Schutt said she fully accepted the penalty and apologised for "failing to meet the standards expected of me", and for the attention the matter had drawn, and thanked people for their support.

The matches she misses

Schutt has played 114 ODIs and 126 T20 internationals for Australia and came into this tour off a strong one-day series against Bangladesh.

Pakistan women's cricket

Pakistan's own women's fixtures, results and squad are on our Pakistan women's team living page, and today's international matches are on the cricket match centre.