Steve Smith breaks down in tears as he apologises for Australia ball-tampering scandal

Smith burst into tears when reading a statement to take the wrap for the incident which has seen him hit with a year’s ban from cricket and stripped of the Australia captaincy.

Smith admitted it was a failure of leadership but vowed to recover and regain the nation’s respect after Cameron Bancroft was spotted tampering with a ball during the South Africa Test.

Smith, Bancroft and Dave Warner have been handed bans – but coach Darren Lehmann remains in place.

“To all Australians who are disappointed and angry, I’m sorry,” Smith said.

“Tonight I want to make clear that as captain of the Australia cricket team I take full responsibility. I made a serious error of judgement.

“It was a serious failure of my leadership. I’ll do everything I can to make up for my mistake and the damage it’s caused.

“If any good can come of this, if there can be a lesson to others, then I hope I can be a force for change.

“Good people make mistakes.

“I’m deeply sorry. To my knowledge this is the first time it has happened and it will never happen again. I don’t blame anyone. I’m the captain, it is on my watch and I take responsibility for the actions.”

Smith was hounded out of South Africa yesterday, and was given the chance to answer questions this morning in Australia on arrival.

The 28-year-old has been branded a disgrace and took full responsibility for the incident that has rocked cricket this week.

He was adamant that the Cape Town incident was the first time Australia had ball-tampered during his tenure.

“To my knowledge this has never happened before,” he added.

“This is the first time I’ve seen this happen and I can assure you it will never happen again.

“I don’t blame anyone. I’m the captain of the Australian team, it’s on my watch and I take responsibility for what happened in Cape Town last Saturday.

“I know I’ll regret this for the rest of my life, I’m absolutely gutted. I hope in time I can earn back respect and forgiveness.

“I’ve been so privileged and honoured to represent my country and captain Australia. Cricket is the greatest game in the world and it’s been my life – I hope it can be again. I’m absolutely devastated.”

Earlier batsman Bancroft apologised for lying about what he had used to scuff up the ball in the third Test against South Africa after it was confirmed he used sandpaper and not sticky tape with granules from the pitch.

Cricket Australia banned Bancroft for nine months on Wednesday over the scandal, which has outraged the fans, jolted sponsors and prompted CA to send the players home.

CA also banned captain Smith and his deputy Warner for a year each for their roles in the scandal.

“I lied. I lied about the sandpaper,” Bancroft told reporters at a news conference in Perth. “I panicked in that situation and I’m very sorry. I feel like I’ve let everyone down in Australia.”

The 25-year-old said he had thrown away his spot in the team and that he was determined to win back respect.

“The thing that breaks my heart the most is that I’ve given up my spot in the team for free. People know I worked so hard to get to this point in my career and to have given up that chance for free is devastating,” Bancroft added.

“I have never ever been involved in tampering with the ball (before now) and it clearly compromises my values and what I stand for as a player and as a person.

“It’s going to be a really long road particularly for myself to earn that respect back but for me that’s the most important thing.”

The ball-tampering crisis has helped to convince the International Cricket Council that urgent action is needed to protect the spirit of the sport.

ICC chief executive David Richardson admits a succession of incidents of poor player behaviour, culminating in the ball-tampering fiasco.

The ICC was able to impose only Level 2 punishments of a full match fine and a one-Test ban on Smith – because that is the current category for ball-tampering under its code of conduct – unlike the more stringent penalty since levied by Cricket Australia.

For that reason, Richardson has confirmed the range of response to ball-tampering is highly likely to rise very soon – before a wide-ranging review is implemented, likely to be informed by respected former players such as Allan Border, Anil Kumble, Shaun Pollock and Courtney Walsh.

“We’ve come to realise that the world – not only Australia – regards ball-tampering in a very serious light. It goes to the spirit of the game,” he said.

“I must admit this has been an eye-opener for me personally.

“We need to look at the penalty imposed, specific to ball-tampering.

“Around the world, ball-tampering is considered cheating… I think we need to look at it again, and this is what has prompted this review.”

Richardson believes it is time to act on behalf of everyone who plays, watches and officiates in cricket worldwide.

“This is an opportunity for us to draw a line in the sand and say quite clearly fans are concerned about the way the game is played, to take a hard look at the game.

“The reaction all around the world shows us that if we neglect the way the game is played, cricket is itself in danger.

“We are going to ignore (that) at our peril… we don’t want to leave this lingering, and hope it will all go away.”

The controversy which has engulfed Australia appears to have been the ICC’s tipping point.

Richardson added: “We’ve seen a lot of incidents of poor player behaviour in recent weeks: ugly sledging, abusive language, dissenting umpires’ decisions, and now, of course, the ball-tampering episode in the latest series.

“Player behaviour was already on our agenda for the (ICC’s) April (board) meeting, before the Cape Town Test match, but I think what happened down there has certainly created an additional sense of urgency that something needs to be done as quickly as possible.

“So with the full support of the board, we’ll be undertaking quite a wide-ranging review into player conduct – and in particular the spirit in which the game is played.”