Australia Cricket captain Steve Smith steps down gets suspended by ICC after ball tampering cheating storm

Australian Captain Steve Smith. [Photo: Courtesy]

Australia’s Steve Smith and David Warner have stepped down as captain and vice captain following the ball tampering scandal in South Africa, Cricket Australia said in a statement on Sunday.

Wicketkeeper Tim Paine, 33, would step in as acting captain for the remainder of the ongoing third test against South Africa, CA added.

Smith said he was embarrassed and took responsibility for the actions of his side after they were charged with attempting to change the condition of the ball on Saturday but he will not be stepping down as skipper.

Opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, 25, the most junior member in the side, was the player charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for trying to change the condition of the ball using sticky tape and grit from the pitch. (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by John O’Brien)

ICC cracks the whip on Smith          

A photo showing Aussie cricketer Cameron Bancroft mishandling the ball. [Photo: Courtesy]

Meanwhile, Australia captain Steve Smith has been suspended for one-match by the ICC after his cheating shame against South Africa.

Opening batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught smearing dirt onto the ball in an attempt to force the ball to reverse swing during the third Test in Cape Town.

Smith will now miss the last game of the series and has been fined 100 per cent of his match fee.

Bancroft has been handed a 75 per cent fine and given three demerit points.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said in a statement: " The decision made by the leadership group of the Australian team to act in this way is clearly contrary to the spirit of the game, risks causing significant damage to the integrity of the match, the players and the sport itself and is therefore ‘serious’ in nature. As captain, Steve Smith must take full responsibility for the actions of his players and it is appropriate that he be suspended.”

“The game needs to have a hard look at itself. In recent weeks we have seen incidents of ugly sledging, send-offs, dissent against umpires’ decisions, a walk-off, ball tampering and some ordinary off-field behaviour.

“The ICC needs to do more to prevent poor behavior and better police the spirit of the game, defining more clearly what is expected of players and enforcing the regulations in a consistent fashion. In addition and most importantly Member countries need to show more accountability for their teams’ conduct. Winning is important but not at the expense of the spirit of the game which is intrinsic and precious to the sport of cricket. We have to raise the bar across all areas.”

Smith had previously been stood down as skipper for the rest of the match, with David Warner also dumped as vice-captain - wicket-keeper Tim Paine has been endorsed as acting captain.

Australians bay for his blood

CA chief executive James Sutherland said: "Following discussions with Steve Smith and David Warner they have agreed to stand down as captain and vice-captain respectively for the remainder of this Test match.

"This Test match needs to proceed, and in the interim we will continue to investigate this matter with the urgency that it demands.

"As I said earlier today, Cricket Australia and Australian cricket fans expect certain standards of conduct from cricketers representing our country, and on this occasion these standards have not been met.

"All Australians, like us, want answers and we will keep you updated on our findings, as a matter of priority."

Smith admitted cheating after Bancroft had been charged by the match official.

"The leadership group (I'm not naming names) knew about it, we spoke about it at lunch," he said. "The coaches weren't involved. It was purely the players. It won't happen again.

"I can promise you this is the first time this has happened, hopefully we can learn something from this. I'm embarrassed, the boys in the shed are embarrassed.

"It's a poor reflection of everyone in that dressing room. If we weren't caught I would still feel bad. We spoke about it, and we thought it was a good way to get an advantage. It's not within the spirit of the game. It's not on.

"I won't be considering stepping down. I still think I'm the right person for the job. But I take responsibility."