Australian Captain Steve Smith punished over ball tempering
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DUBAI - The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday handed Australia captain Steve Smith one-Test suspension and fined 100% of his match fee following his admission that he was party to a decision to attempt to change the condition of the ball in order to gain an unfair advantage during 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 for Players and Player Support Personnel which prohibits ‘all types of conduct of a serious nature that is contrary to the spirit of the game’.
Smith accepted the charge and the proposed sanction of two suspension points which equates to a ban for the next Test match and which will see four demerit points added to his record.
“The decision made by the leadership group of the Australian team to act in this way is clearly contrary to the spirit of the game, risks causing significant damage to the integrity of the match, the players and the sport itself and is, therefore, ‘serious’ in nature.
As captain, Steve Smith must take full responsibility for the actions of his players and it is appropriate that he be suspended,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said.
