Melbourne

In a massive blow, Australian pacer Megan Schutt has been ruled out of the final of the three-match series against New Zealand at home after receiving a two-match ban for medication use by Cricket Australia. 

Schutt received the ban from Cricket Australia for failing to adhere to requirements around the use of prescription medication, with the veteran right-armer to also miss the opening game of the domestic Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) season as part of her suspension, as per the ICC.

"Australian player Megan Schutt has been suspended for two matches," Cricket Australia confirmed via a statement as quoted by the ICC.

"The breach was a failure to adhere to requirements under the Sports Science and Sports Medicine guidelines with regard to prescription medication. This relates to a single incidence which occurred while out of competition and was not for performance enhancing purposes," the statement added.

"The two-match ban includes all international and domestic cricket. We will continue to provide appropriate support to Megan and reinforce the standards and responsibilities expected of everyone representing our game," the statement continued.

Schutt accepted the ban immediately and released her own statement to confirm.

"I fully accept the penalty handed down and apologise for failing to meet the standards expected of me," Schutt said. 

I am sorry for the attention this has caused and appreciate the support I have received. While this occurred out of competition and was not performance related, I understand that I am responsible for following the Sports Science and Sports Medicine Guidelines, which players receive regular education on, and I should have adhered to these guidelines," she added.

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Australia currently lead the three-match T20I series against New Zealand 2-0 and will be looking to complete a series sweep in Sydney on Thursday.

While Schutt has yet to take part in the T20I series, the 33-year-old was in good form during the recent ODI series with Bangladesh as part of the ongoing ICC Women's Championship as she collected 10 wickets across the three games.