Australia captain Steve Smith has been banned for one match and fined his entire match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his part in a ball-tampering incident in the third Test against South Africa.
Steve Smith, left, captain of Australia with team mate David Warner. Photo: AFP
Smith said that the team's "leadership group" had a plan, carried out by batsman Cameron Bancroft, to tamper with the ball to "get an advantage".
Smith will now miss the fourth and final Test of the series, and he has also been sacked from his lucrative position as captain of the Indian Premier League's Rajasthan Royals side.
Australian government agency, the Australian Sports Commission, is calling for the Smith to be immediately removed.
It's also calling for any other members of the team leadership group or coaches who knew about the scheme to also go.
Vice-captain David Warner has been stood down from his position for the rest of the match.
Australian fielder Cameron Bancroft is questioned by the umpires during the third day of the third Test cricket match between South Africa and Australia. Photo: AFP
Bancroft was fined 75 percent of his match fee and given three demerit points.
Smith admitted a charge of conduct "of a serious nature that is contrary to the spirit of the game", said a statement from the International Cricket Council, the sport's governing body.
"As captain, Steve Smith must take full responsibility for the actions of his players and it is appropriate that he be suspended," said ICC chief executive David Richardson.
Smith said he was embarrassed and took responsibility for the actions of his side but he would not be stepping down as skipper permanently.
To compound matters for the Australians, they saw all 10 wickets fall in the final session on day four to lose the match by 322 runs.
The final match of the ill-tempered series begins in Johannesburg on Friday.
Lawrence Booth, editor of Wisden - a cricket almanac - told Morning Report the real punishment will come from Cricket Australia who is currently investigating.
"I think we will see much tougher action from [Cricket Australia]. If you've got the prime minister calling for Smith to go I don't think that the board is going to stand in the way of that.
"I think they will reflect the general sense of outrage in Australia."
'The game needs to have a hard look at itself'
Australia's captain Steve Smith, right, flanked by teammate Cameron Bancroft, speaking as he admitted to ball-tampering during the third Test against South Africa. Photo: AFP
The ball-tampering incident took place on the third day of the third Test in Cape Town - escalating the tension around what has been an ill-tempered four-match series, which is level at 1-1.
Television footage showed Bancroft take what he said was yellow tape out of his trouser pocket before rubbing the ball.
Smith said after play that it was a "big mistake" but that he would not stand down. He said the team's "leadership group" had spoken about the plan and "thought it was a way to get an advantage".
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he 'shocked and disappointed' Photo: AFP
Cricket Australia (CA) has begun an investigation into the actions of its team, which Australia's prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said had "shocked and bitterly disappointed" him.
"The game needs to have a hard look at itself," added ICC chief Richardson.
"In addition, and most importantly, member countries need to show more accountability for their teams' conduct.
"Winning is important but not at the expense of the spirit of the game which is intrinsic and precious to the sport of cricket. We have to raise the bar across all areas."
Batsman Bancroft admitted changing the condition of the ball and accepted his punishment from Andy Pycroft, who is on the elite panel of ICC match referees,
"I acknowledge that Cameron has accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty to the charge and apologising publicly.
"As a young player starting out in international cricket, I hope the lessons learned from this episode will strongly influence the way he plays the game during the rest of his career."
"It's extremely hard not to take some sort of private ... gloating satisfaction in the predicament that the Australian players have gotten themselves into" - Capetown-based cricket commentator Neil Manthorp
Players who accumulate four demerit points in a two-year period receive a one-match ban, while those who get eight demerit points in the same 24-month period are banned for two matches.
Neither Smith nor Bancroft had any demerit points on their records before the current incident.
Prior to the start of the fourth day's play in the third Test, CA chief executive James Sutherland said Smith and David Warner had "agreed to stand down as captain and vice-captain respectively for the remainder of this Test match".
Wicketkeeper Tim Paine was appointed acting captain for the rest of the match, although Smith and Warner continued to play.
"This Test match needs to proceed, and in the interim we will continue to investigate this matter with the urgency that it demands," Mr Sutherland said.
"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."
CA's head of integrity Iain Roy and head of team performance Pat Howard have also travelled to Australia.
Prime minister 'shocked and disappointed'
Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has also spoken about the issue.
"I am shocked and bitterly disappointed by the news from South Africa," said Turnbull.
"It seems beyond belief the Australian cricket team have been involved in cheating. Our cricketers are role models and cricket is synonymous with fair play. How can our team be engaged in cheating like this? It beggars belief."
"It's their responsibility to deal with it, but I have to say that the whole nation, who hold those who wear the baggy green up on a pedestal - about as high as you can get in Australia, certainly higher than any politician, that's for sure - this is a shocking disappointment."
Why does the condition of the ball matter?
Bancroft has been punished by the ICC for attempting to change the condition of the ball. '
Roughing up one side of the ball can help the fielding side achieve "reverse swing" - in which the ball moves in the opposite direction to conventional swing, which is achieved by polishing one side of the ball.
There are several methods by which the ball can be deliberately roughed up - ranging from the outright illegal (scuffing it with a bottle top, or scratching with fingernails), to those which are frowned upon but frequently take place anyway, such as throwing the ball into the stumps on the bounce, or applying saliva after sucking sugary sweets.
Polishing the ball on your clothing is allowed if no artificial substance is used, as is drying a wet ball with a towel that has been approved by the umpires, or removing mud from the ball under an umpire's supervision.
The umpire's ultimate sanction, if they feel the ball has been altered illegally, is to change the ball and award five penalty runs to the batting side - although this did not take place in Cape Town.
Such an instance did take place at The Oval in 2006 when umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove ruled that Pakistan had tampered with the ball during a Test against England. Pakistan refused to take the field after tea in protest, and forfeited the Test.
The tampering has been widely condemned by former Australian international players.
Australia 'playing under siege mentality' after fiery series
The South Africa-Australia series had already contained several flashpoints before the sides arrived in Cape Town for the current third Test.
Vice-captain Warner had to be restrained by team-mates during an off-field altercation with Proteas wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock during the first Test in Durban, for which both players were fined by the ICC and given demerit points.
South Africa pace bowler Kagiso Rabada was then handed a two-match suspension after deliberately brushing shoulders with Smith after celebrating his dismissal in the second Test at Port Elizabeth, but won an appeal to reduce his punishment to one demerit point rather than two, meaning he avoided a ban but remains one point away from it being triggered.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann then hit out at what he described as "disgraceful" verbal abuse towards his side in the early stages of the Cape Town Test.
"The Australian team have been playing under a siege mentality," ABC commentator Adam Collins told BBC Test Match Special.
"Lehmann had complained about the treatment the players have been getting - they are furious about what has happened in the last couple of weeks. Steve Smith is not a bad bloke. There is something else going on here.
"But the response on social media is very strong. It is trending against Steve Smith - it's not as if people are defending him. Smith knows he is in a lot of trouble.
"Australian fans would rather see their team lose than win like this."
- BBC