CANBERRA – Australian skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner have been banned for 12 months by the country’s cricket board for their roles in the ball tampering scandal on the third day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Besides the bigshots, Cameron Bancroft, who was caught on camera attempting to doctor the ball with a piece of tape, has also been banned for nine months for the pre-planned bid, that has virtually tarnished the repute of Cricket Australia.
On Tuesday, the trio was sent home for their role in the shocking ball-tampering saga, however, the coach Darren Lehmann is to remain in charge.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/sports/video-australian-admit-ball-tampering-against-south-africa/
Cricket Australia had announced an independent review into the conduct and culture of the team, which the ACA said should ‘examine the behaviour of administrators’.
“Australia’s core values of respect, integrity and fairness must be brought to bear on the game of cricket through such a process,” it had said after the scandal surfaced.
In another devastating blow, Warner stepped down as captain of Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday. Smith had already been replaced as skipper of rival side Rajasthan Royals for the Twenty20 competition due to start next month.
“In light of recent events, David Warner has stepped down as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad,” Sunrisers chief executive K Shanmugam said on the team’s official Twitter page.
https://twitter.com/SunRisers/status/978878109876391936
It is noteworthy that Smith is due to depart for Australia today and will speak publicly upon his arrival in Sydney. Meanwhile, Wicketkeeper Tim Paine will take over the captaincy for the fourth and final Test starting on Friday, with hosts South Africa leading the series 2-1.
