So that brings us to end of today's coverage. Keep follow Firstpost for more news and updates on the ball-tampering scandal. Until next time, goodbye.
Ball-tampering scandal, as it happened: Lehmann to step down as Australia coach after 4th Test; Somerset sack Bancroft
The ball-tampering scandal led the front pages of all of the Australia's major newspapers, the headlines mostly working around the single word “Shame”.
- FirstCricket Staff
- March 29th, 2018
- 22:43:38 IST
ICMYI: Kane Williamson has been appointed as the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain for the upcoming season, after David Warner stepped down due to his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal.
David Warner is yet to address the media after formally after the Sandpaper Gate. It was reported that he is going to challenge the ban. But there has been no confirmation about it.
Do you agree?
No human being should be remembered for their worst mistake, or judged only for the worst thing they did. That is happening with Smith, Warner and Bancroft and is just not on. #AUSvSA #SmithWarner #SandpaperGate
— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) March 29, 2018
RCB's Parthiv Patel feels Australia ball-tampering scandal will not affect tournament's brand value. Read about his thoughts here.
The ball tampering incident should not define Steve Smith and his two fallen teammates, according to Indian batsman Rohit Sharma.
Read why.
They are regretting and hurting and will have to live with the consequences of their act. Spare a thought for their families as they have much to endure along with the players. Time for all of us to take a step back and give them some space.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 29, 2018
James Sutherland: Darren Lehmann is the coach for this Test and I wish him and the team all the best
Hope in time I can earn forgiveness says Steve Smith.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) March 29, 2018
He has already got mine.
Cricketers have done worse & never admitted their guilt.#StevenSmith
James Sutherland: I'm not resigning and what's happened over the last few days has only strengthened my resolve.
Highlights
Somerset announce that Cameron Bancroft will no longer be their overseas player for the 2018 season.
Ahead of releasing the results of Cricket Australia's probe into the ball-tampering scandal, CA chief James Sutherland has arrived in South Africa.
Steve Smith is a great batsman, but is he a great cricketer?
This incident will certainly see Smith lose a lot of respect, particularly from opponents and perhaps most damningly from the Australian cricket public, writes Akash Fotedar. You can read his piece here.
Johannesburg: Disgraced skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were heading home to an angry Australia Thursday after being banned for a year over a cheating scandal that has left their careers in tatters and sponsors deserting the game.
Cricket Australia said they had been suspended from "all international and domestic cricket" while opening batsman Cameron Bancroft was exiled for nine months over the ball-tampering incident during the third Test in South Africa.
Their fall from grace has been dramatic, and fast, with cricket chiefs bowing to uproar at home where sportsmen and women are held in high esteem and expected to act in the best interests of the game.
Australia's coach Darren Lehmann, reacts as he speaks, during a media conference in Johannesburg. AP
Authorities also needed to act decisively to counter mounting concern from sponsors over reputational damage.
CA's response wasn't enough to save an estimated Aus$20 million (US$15 million) partnership with naming rights sponsor Magellan which tore up its three-year contract Thursday after barely seven months.
"A conspiracy by the leadership of the Australian men's Test cricket team which broke the rules with a clear intention to gain an unfair advantage during the third Test in South Africa goes to the heart of integrity," said the fund manager's chief Hamish Douglass.
"Regrettably, these recent events are so inconsistent with our values that we are left with no option but to terminate our ongoing partnership with Cricket Australia."
The financial cost for the players is also growing with sporting goods company ASICS ending its relationship with Warner and Bancroft. Electronics giant LG axed Warner on Wednesday.
Other team sponsors, including Qantas and Commonwealth Bank, have voiced their deep disappointment over the scandal but so far have taken no action.
Smith, a golden boy compared to Donald Bradman for his batting exploits, is reportedly a broken man.
He was jeered as he made his way through Johannesburg airport on Wednesday surrounded by police and media and will face the music at home with a press conference scheduled for Thursday evening.
There are also concerns over his mental state in the current rabid climate, with coach Darren Lehmann calling for all three men to be "given a second chance".
The Australian newspaper said Smith, used to being on a pedestal, had been a tearful wreck since the scandal broke and there were fears that his life might unravel during his exile.
"He deserves to feel the pain of exile," the newspaper said. "But then another mission starts to ensure the grief that is crippling him at the moment does not destroy him."
Former great Shane Warne, no stranger himself to controversy, offered the trio an olive branch despite days of a harsh and judgemental Australian public baying for blood.
"What the public wants to see is change. They want to see you be a better person," he wrote in a column for the Sydney Daily Telegraph. "They'll support you if they see that, and they'll forgive you."
Smith — the world's No 1 Test batsman — was charged with knowledge of the potential ball-altering plan, while Warner was charged with developing the plot and instructing Bancroft to carry it out.
CA said Bancroft, who has played just eight Tests, had attempted to "artificially alter the condition of the ball using sandpaper".
CA added Smith had continued to try to cover up the plot by issuing "misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent and participants of the plan".
In a further blow, it ruled Smith and Bancroft would not be considered for team leadership positions until a minimum of 12 months after the end of their suspensions, and Warner will never lead again.
While they are banned from top level cricket, they can still play at club level in Australia or in other countries.
However, both Smith and Warner have been ejected from this year's Indian Premier League (IPL), losing contracts worth nearly US$2 million each.
While they have been banished, Lehmann remains in charge because Cricket Australia said he was unaware of what was going on.
"As a coach you feel for them as people," Lehmann said in Johannesburg.
"They are young men and I hope people will give them a second chance. Their health and well-being is extremely important to us. I worry about them mentally."
Wicketkeeper Tim Paine will take over the Australian captaincy for the fourth and final Test starting in Johannesburg on Friday, with hosts South Africa leading a bad-tempered series 2-1.
Matt Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell and Joe Burns have been flown into Johannesburg to replace the exiled trio.
With inputs from Agencies
Updated Date: March 29, 2018 22:43:38 IST
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