AS a former member of Durham County Cricket Club, and previously involved with sponsoring two cricket leagues within the county, I was surprised and disgusted to read that we have appointed Cameron Bancroft as county captain for the 2019 season (Echo, March 22).

How can you reward a cheat banned for nine months for using sandpaper to affect the match ball in a March 2018 Test Match against South Africa with a captaincy and why has Sir Ian Botham as chairman of Durham CCC allowed it?

Bancroft’s sentence was lenient, to say the least, and it appears to me that Australian Marcus North, now director of cricket at Durham, needs also to explain the decision.

It was only last week that Shane Warne said the English crowds in this year’s Ashes series should vent their feelings to Smith and Warner, captain and vice-captain in the March 2018 sandpaper cheating episode.

Smith and Warner both received a lenient 12 month ban and all three will be rewarded by playing in The Cricket World Cup, The Ashes or County Cricket in my country this year. These suspensions should have been much longer because it is too short of a time for these players to benefit from cheating.

George Alberts, Thailand