Steve Smith Steps Down as Captain Following Ball Tampering Incident During South Africa vs Australia 3rd Test

Steve Smith has stepped down as Australia captain following the ball tampering incident which took place during the day three of the ongoing third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. Smith along with Cameron Bancroft admitted to have tampered with the ball in a press conference after the third day’s play. Apparently, the visuals of Bancroft rubbing the ball with a substance appearing as sandpaper were allover the internet. Smith admitted that ‘team leadership’ had decided to change the condition of the ball. Apart from Smith, David Warner also steps down from his position of vice-captaincy. Meanwhile, wicket-keeper batsman Tim Paine will lead the side in the remainder of the Cape Town Test. This comes after the Australian government on Sunday asked Cricket Australia to remove Smith as captain with immediate effect. Interestingly, during the presser Smith has said that he won’t quit and is the ‘best man’ to lead the side.

Australian Sports Commission (ASC) chief John Wylie, the ASC Board, and CEO Kate Palmer, essentially speaking for the Australian government have called for a severe action to be taken against everyone involved in the incident. "The ASC condemns cheating of any form in sport. It expects and requires that Australian teams and athletes demonstrate unimpeachable integrity in representing our country. Given the admission by Australian captain Steve Smith, the ASC calls for him to be stood down immediately by Cricket Australia, along with any other members of the team leadership group or coaching staff who had prior awareness of, or involvement in, the plan to tamper with the ball. This can occur while Cricket Australia completes a full investigation," espncricinfo.com quoted a statement from the ASC.

"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," Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland said in a statement.

"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," concluded Sutherland.

On the board decision to appoint an acting captain, Cricket Australia chairman, David Peever said: "The Board of Cricket Australia has endorsed Tim Paine to step in as Acting Captain for the remainder of this Test. Both Steve and David will take to the field today under Tim's captaincy."

"The Board fully supports the process for an immediate investigation into what occurred in Cape Town. We regard this as a matter of the utmost seriousness and urgency. We will ensure we have all information available to make the right decisions for Australian Cricket." (With ANI inputs).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 25, 2018 02:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).