Cape Town/Melbourne: Australia captain Steve Smith says he is embarrassed and takes responsibility for the actions of his side after they were charged with attempting to change the condition of the ball in the third Test against South Africa on Saturday, but he will not be stepping down as skipper.
Smith detailed an orchestrated effort from the team's "leadership group" to use sticky tape to pick up hard granules from the pitch and rub these against the ball to try to alter its condition and get it to swing.
Opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, 25, the most junior member in the side, was the player tasked with implementing the plan and he has been charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which could lead to a one-match ban and a 100 percent fine of his match fee.
"I'm embarrassed, the boys in the shed are embarrassed and I feel for Cam as well," Smith told reporters.
"It is not what we want to see in the game, it's not what the Australian cricket team is about. Being the leader of the team I am incredibly sorry for trying to bring the game into disrepute like we did today."
Bancroft admits ball-tampering
A remorseful Bancroft admitted he was nervous at taking on his role in the scam and panicked when he realised that cameras in the stadium had caught him in the act, placing the tape in his underwear to keep it out of the gaze of the umpires.
Bancroft was caught on television cameras appearing to rub a yellow object on the ball, and later said: "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I want to be here (in the press conference) because I want to be accountable for my actions."
"I guess once I was sighted on the (TV) screens, that resulted in me shoving it down my trousers," Bancroft said. "I am not proud of what has happened. I have to live with the consequences and the damage to my reputation that comes with it. I will do my best to move forward and play cricket."
Smith said it was the first and last time the team had hatched such a plan and while he would not name the other conspirators, he said head coach Darren Lehmann was not involved.
'Leadership group knew about it'
"The leadership group knew about it, we spoke about it at lunch," Smith said. "I’m not proud of what has happened. It’s not in the spirit of the game, my integrity and the integrity of the team has been damaged and rightfully so. It’s not on and it won’t happen again, I can promise you.
"The coaches weren't involved, it was purely the players and the leadership group who came up with this. A poor choice, our actions are deeply regrettable."
Smith said he wanted to keep captaining the side.
"I won't be considering stepping down, I still think I am the right person for the job. Today was a big mistake. This is something I am not proud of, something I can learn from and like I said, I am embarrassed to be sitting here talking about this," he said.
"We are in the middle of such a great series and for something like this to overshadow the great cricket that has been played, that’s not what I am about or what the team is about."
CA to conduct investigation
Meanwhile, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Sunday they will conduct an investigation into a ball-tampering scandal during the third test against South Africa that has prompted calls for captain Steve Smith to step down.
"From a Cricket Australia perspective we regard this as an extremely serious issue," CA chief executive James Sutherland told a news conference in Melbourne.
"Activities on the field in Cape Town were neither in the spirit or the laws of the game. For us that's extremely disappointing."
Bancroft was captured putting a yellow object down the front of his pants moments before the umpires seemingly inquired what was in the fielder's pockets, according to Cricket Australia (CA) website. Footage later broadcast showed Bancroft rubbing the ball and then seemingly putting an object back in his pocket. Bancroft admitted that the object used was a yellow tape.
Ball tampering is a Level 2 offence in the ICC Code of Conduct, which carries a maximum 100 per cent fine and up to four demerit points, which equates to a one-Test suspension.
CA lodges complaint against Cape Town crowd
Meanwhile, controversies in the tour continued as CA chief executive James Sutherland has called for zero tolerance to anti-social behaviour by fans following the offensive comments made towards the Australians by members of the Cape Town crowd.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann on Friday confirmed CA had lodged an official complaint to Cricket South Africa in relation to "disgraceful" comments made by Newlands spectators that targeted the touring players' wives and families.
"We are extremely disappointed that a small number of fans have directed such offensive and inappropriate behaviour towards our players and members of their families," Sutherland said in a statement.
"Our chairman David Peever, who is in Cape Town, has taken the matter up directly with relevant CSA officials, including president Chris Nenzani," he added.
"We acknowledge that CSA is taking steps to ensure incidents like those yesterday are not repeated and we have encouraged the strongest possible action in response to such behaviour."