Australia's O'Keefe sanctioned for second drunken incident

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia spinner Stephen O'Keefe has been fined A$20,000 (12,041.42 pounds) and banned from a domestic one-day tournament after making "highly inappropriate comments" while under the influence of alcohol, Cricket Australia said on Friday. The incident happened at a Cricket New South Wales function and O'Keefe had accepted a code of conduct charge, the board said in a statement. "As this is O'Keefe's second offence under the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct, within the last 18 months, a fine of $20,000 was proposed and accepted," the statement said. The New South Wales left-armer was fined $10,000 by CA last August for a drunken incident involving security staff at a Sydney bar soon after he returned home injured from Australia's tour of Sri Lanka. The incident prompted O'Keefe to stop drinking and he was selected for the tour of India, where he took 6-35 in both innings to lead Australia to a stunning victory in the first test in late February. O'Keefe has agreed to undergo counselling but his state association Cricket NSW still banned him for selection for New South Wales for the domestic one-day tournament in 2017. "Stephen has not upheld the standards expected of a NSW and Australian cricketer in the aftermath of the India tour where he proudly represented his state and country," Cricket NSW CEO Andrew Jones said. "As this is his second recent offence we believe a strong penalty is appropriate. At Cricket NSW, we want all our people to achieve their potential on and off the field and Stephen needs to refocus himself on that task." (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)