Smith has been England's tormentor-in-chief in the ongoing Ashes series, which Australia have already retained after winning the fourth Test in Manchester on Sunday.
Former skipper Mark Taylor has backed the appointment of Steve Smith as Australia's vice-captain more than three years after he was stripped of the captaincy for his involvement in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.
The key finding from the investigation was that prior knowledge of the incident was confined to three players, Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.
Australia sealed a dominant 10-wicket victory over England before lunch on day five of the series-opening Ashes Test on Monday, having chased 170 runs without loss in a blow to the tourists' pride.
A bemused, if almost ambivalent reaction, has come from South Africa in contrast to the angry backlash in Australia to their cricket team's admission of cheating in a Test match between the sides at Newlands on Saturday.
In the space of two days, top batsman Smith has gone from Australia's cricketing golden boy to national pariah and it looks likely that he has played his last Test as captain.
Justin Langer understands how Cameron Bancroft became embroiled in the ball-tampering scandal and said he would have cheated too if instructed to by senior players when he first played Test cricket.
'To stick to your guns when all the cricketing greats, coaches and textbooks say you are wrong -- that takes real courage. And now everyone is watching him bat in amazement, and trying to learn from him. The textbooks on batting technique may need to be rewritten'
Former skipper Ricky Ponting believes the exodus of experienced players left a void in Australian cricket and this leadership crisis led to the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018.
Images from Day 3 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, on Friday.
Former skipper Smith and vice-captain Warner were banned for a year, and Bancroft for nine months after Cricket Australia (CA) held them guilty of conspiring to "change the condition of the ball" in last week's third Test against South Africa.
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.
Sacked Australia captain Steve Smith and David Warner have both been banned for 12 months for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town.
A ball-tampering scandal that devastated Australia cast a dark cloud over a dramatic cricketing year
'These guys are not thugs'
Australian cricket's ball-tampering scandal is a massive talking point at the Commonwealth Games with even tough-talking immigration officers concerned about the country's image.
Australia will field the same team in the second Ashes Test against England, captain Steve Smith said on Friday, with uncapped local seamer Chadd Sayers and quick Jackson Bird again missing out.
Indian bowlers' efforts at making a match of it went in vain as Australia A pulled off a three-wicket win in a tight chase on the fourth and final day of the first four-day Quadrangular A series game at the AB Field in Brisbane on Sunday. Despite a delayed start to the day due to a wet outfield following heavy rain, the hosts chased down the 159-run target set by India A on Saturday.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann said on Thursday he would step down after this week's Test match against South Africa, as he took ultimate responsibility for the culture of a team embroiled in a ball-tampering scandal that has rocked the sport.
Australia coach Justin Langer has urged the struggling batsmen in his team to step up and deliver when the fifth and final Ashes Test against England starts at The Oval on Thursday.
Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) president Greg Dyer said the contrition of the players should be taken into account along with the precedent -- no player has previously received more than a one-match ban for the offence -- and a lack of due process in the Cricket Australia probe.
Former Australia captain Steve Smith will serve out the remainder of his 12-month ban from international and state cricket recuperating from surgery on his injured elbow, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Saturday.
England fans were seen wearing crying Steve Smith masks during the first Ashes Test.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Test played between South Africa and Australia in Cape Town on Saturday
Explosive Australian batsman David Warner was on Thursday reinstated as captain of Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming season, starting on March 29. The 33-year-old had stepped down as captain after he was barred from participating in the 2018 season of the tournament in the aftermath of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
Disgraced David Warner still has a future in Australian cricket, the sport's chief executive James Sutherland says, handing the explosive opener a lifeline after a cheating scandal.
The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games have restored Australia's global sporting reputation that had taken a hit during the recent ball-tampering scandal, Games Organising Committee Chairman Peter Beattie said.
Sutherland was watching the match between South Africa and Australian in his Melbourne home but turned off the television before images of Cameron Bancroft using a foreign object to alter the condition of the ball appeared on the screen.
The former Test vice-captain returned to the field in a recent Twenty20 tournament in Canada and followed that up with his first appearance in Australia on Saturday in a limited-overs competition in Darwin.
Axed captain Steve Smith, Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft have all been sent home with CA set to announce punishments for the trio later on Wednesday for their role in the scandal that has rocked Australian cricket to its core.
In the shadow of the ball-tampering saga that broke out on Saturday and has rocked Australian cricket since, the former cricketer reckons, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft 'will be haunted by it forever'
Selectors name the Test squad on Thursday but will have to rely on their gut rather than hard numbers
CA has denied reports that former Australia captain Steve Smith and batsman David Warner's suspensions had been relaxed to allow them to participate in domestic first-class cricket ahead of the 2019 World Cup.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between South Africa and Australia in Durban on Saturday.
His loss for even part of the series would be a huge blow to a team already missing so much batting experience because of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
Images from Day 4 of the 4th Test at MCG in Melbourne on Friday
The return of all-rounder Ben Stokes will be a welcome boost to the England squad as he provides much-needed balance and lifts morale, team mate Moeen Ali said ahead of the two-match test series in New Zealand.
Opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, the most junior member in the side at 25, was tasked with implementing the plan and was duly caught on camera using the tape.
The International Cricket Council's Cricket Committee backed stricter punishments for ball-tampering but decided not to do away with the toss in test cricket during a two-day meeting which concluded in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Australia's limited overs captain Aaron Finch feels the banned duo of Steve Smith and David Warner will be 'welcomed back with open arms' despite doubts that the former vice-captain may be dumped.
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