Tim Paine apologises after ‘horrible 24 hours’ for Australia

Steve Smith stepped down as Australia captain on Sunday and has been suspended for one test by the International Cricket Council amid stunning ball-tampering revelations that have plunged the test team into crisis.

When it dawned on Bancroft that his indiscretion had been spotted, he was then seen shoving the object down his pants before pleading innocence with the match umpires. They were so naive to get caught.”MICHAEL VAUGHAN, former England captain ” Disgraceful behaviour by senior pros.”STUART BROAD, England paceman ” I saw Steve Smith in his press conference say it’s the first time they’ve tried it – which, to me, it’s surprising why they’d change a method that’s been working.”MOHAMMAD KAIF, former India batsman ” Oh no!

Steve Smith, the Australian captain, admitting to allegations of ball tampering.

“It’s been a frightful 24 hours to be perfectly honest”, stand-in skipper Tim Paine said.

“The ASC expects and requires that Australian teams and athletes demonstrate unimpeachable integrity in representing our country”, it said in a statement.

Only hours earlier, Sutherland said he had no plans to take no immediate action against Smith before a Cricket Australia investigative team reported its findings.

Sutherland described it as a “very sad for Australian cricket” and said fans had “every reason to wake up and not be proud of the Australian cricket team”.

They survived that as well as aggressive bowling by the South Africans to take Australia to within 383 runs of what would be an unlikely victory.

When asked if previous series – including the recent 4-0 Ashes win – would be reviewed, a CA spokesman added: “We won’t be commenting on details of our investigation at this stage”.

Smith has made a mockery of the spirit of cricket and now he needs to face the consequences.

Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock was adamant Australia had “been shown to cheat”.

A premeditated plan to cheat is not a good look for any leader of any sporting team.

Then-England captain Mike Atherton was accused of ball-tampering for taking a substance from his pocket and rubbing it on the ball.

“It is little wonder the fallout has been so huge and sympathy for Australia has been in such short supply”. In the previous test when David Warner was given the job of “shining” the ball and allowed the bowlers to produce effective amounts of unsafe reverse swing as a result, had his fingers covered in abrasive bandages to the extent that it looked as if he had broken a number of them.

Reverse swing has now become a respectable weapon in the hands of a fast bowler, with players mastering the art of “tampering”, without using any extraneous element to do so. It will either move for a complete purge, and complete honesty, or it will return to the jockeying for competitive advantage that got us into this mess in the first place.

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell wrote in a column for Sydney’s Daily Telegraph late yesterday that Smith “shouldn’t be the sole scapegoat for a dark day in Australian cricket”.

Coach Darren Lehmann has yet to front the media to explain what, if any, his role in the scandal was, as former players and fans alike call for his job. I did a question and answer session with the Barmy Army before play on Sunday and it was an overwhelming thumbs down from 170 people.

The scandal has resulted in widespread condemnation at home, including from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. “How can our team be engaged in cheating like this?”

The real and lasting damage, however, is to Australia’s cricket reputation and the boos from the Cape Town crowd directed at Smith, Bancroft and Warner, specifically, and the Australian team in general, may take a long time to fade away.