DUBAI – The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday handed Australiacaptain Steve Smith one-Test suspension and fined 100% of his match feefollowing his admission that he was party to a decision to attempt tochange the condition of the ball in order to gain an unfair advantageduring the third day’s play in the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Smith was charged under to Article 2.2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct forPlayers and Player Support Personnel which prohibits ‘all types of conductof a serious nature that is contrary to the spirit of the game’.
Smith accepted the charge and the proposed sanction of two suspensionpoints which equates to a ban for the next Test match and which will seefour demerit points added to his record.
“The decision made by the leadership group of the Australian team to act inthis way is clearly contrary to the spirit of the game, risks causingsignificant damage to the integrity of the match, the players and the sportitself and is, therefore, ‘serious’ in nature.
As captain, Steve Smith must take full responsibility for the actions ofhis players and it is appropriate that he be suspended,” ICC ChiefExecutive David Richardson said.