Australian Sports Commission Asks Cricket Board To Remove Steve Smith As Captain 'Immediately'

Steve Smith on Sunday stepped down as Australian captain for the remainder of the third Test in Cape Town hours after the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), which comes under the Australian government, asked the cricket board to remove him "immediately".

Tim Paine will take charge for the remainder of the Test.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals made it clear they will not tolerate any unfair action that brings disrepute to the game and said the franchise would wait for instructions from BCCI before taking a call on Steve Smith, who was today handed a one-match ban by ICC for his role in a ball tempering scandal.

"Australia captain Steve Smith handed a one-match suspension and fined 100% of his match fee following his admission yesterday that he was party to a decision to attempt to change the condition of the ball in order to gain an unfair advantage during 3 day’s play against South Africa," the ICC said in a statement.

Australia opener Cameron Bancroft has been fined 75 per cent of his match fee and handed three demerit points for breaching Level 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the third day’s play against South Africa.

David Warner also stood down as vice-captain of Australia. It came a day after Smith admitted to charges of ball-tampering during the third day of the third Test match at Newlands against South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday.

In a press statement, Cricket Australia CEO 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,” 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.

"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,” ASC chair John Wylie and CEO Kate Palmer had said in a statement earlier in the day.

"The ASC condemns cheating of any form in sport. The ASC expects and requires that Australian teams and athletes demonstrate unimpeachable integrity in representing our country...The Australian cricket team are iconic representatives of our country. The example they set matters a great deal to Australia and to the thousands of young Australians playing or enjoying the sport of cricket and who look up to the national team as role models,” the statement added.

There have been calls for Smith to step down or be sacked over the premeditated plan hatched during the lunch break on Saturday's third day in Newlands, after the captain admitted being the mastermind.

Sutherland earlier said Cricket Australia were "extremely disappointed and shocked" but added that the governing body wanted to get a clearer picture of the facts before making any decisions.

"I understand that that is not necessarily the fullness of response that everyone is looking for right now. But you will appreciate that there's an element of process that needs to be undertaken here," Sutherland told reporters in Melbourne.

"We will work very hard over the next couple of days to get to the bottom of it -- to understand the big picture, to understand the detail and to be making further comment on that in due course."

CA's head of integrity and head of team performance were flying to South Africa to conduct the investigation.

Television footage showed Smith's teammate Cameron Bancroft, 25, taking a yellow object out of his pocket while fielding in the post-lunch session and appearing to rub it on the ball.

He was later charged with attempting to change the condition of the ball. Sutherland said he had not spoken to Smith but stressed repeatedly he was unhappy about the incident.

"I have very strong and clear views about the responsibility of the Australian cricket team to play the game in the right spirit," he added.

"And I don't think anyone will be under any illusions as to what I think about this." Smith, 28, has said he would not quit, adding: "I still think I'm the right person for the job."

‘Blatant cheating’

The CA chief said Australian cricket fans had "every reason to wake up and not be proud of the team".

"This is a very sad day for Australian cricket. I'm not happy about this at all ... And I feel like Australian cricket fans feel right now."

There was widespread disbelief and anger in Australia as the news hit the headlines on Sunday morning, with Smith's predecessor Michael Clarke saying he was feeling "pretty emotional".

"I can't believe if the leadership group has made a decision to do this, that they have gone and got the young kid (Bancroft) who is playing his eighth test match to do that," Clarke told broadcaster Channel Nine.

Clarke said he felt sorry for Smith, but added that the tampering was "blatant cheating". "It is disgraceful. It is not accepted by anyone. Particularly in Australia. We've got the best bowling attack in the world. We don't need to cheat to beat anybody."

Players' body the Australian Cricketers Association said in a statement Sunday that "it seems serious errors of judgement have been committed".

"It is right for match officials and Cricket Australia to investigate the full extent of what has transpired. Cricket is a sport synonymous with the highest standards of behaviour," the statement said.

In February, Smith was handed over the captaincy of Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai.

Royals are coming back to the IPL this year after serving a two-year ban and the official event was more of promotional nature aired by official broadcasters Star Sports as Smith’s choice as leader was just a formality.

Smith, one of the best batsman in world cricket at present, was part of the Rajasthan Royals in 2014 and 2015 and was retained by the franchise. Notably, Smith had led the the Rising Pune Supergiant last year to the final of the IPL where they eventually lost to champions Mumbai Indians. In what was a successful season for him, Smith had amassed 472 runs in 15 matches in the last IPL season.

(With agency inputs)

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Australian Captain Steve Smith Suspended For One Test Match By ICC, Fined 100% Of His Match Fee

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