Ball-tampering scandal: Steve Smith, David Warner to stand down for rest of Test

David Warner and Steve SmithSteve Smith and David Warner will stand down as captain and vicecaptain for rest of Australias third Test match against South Africa Cricket Australia said as it investigates a balltampering scandal There have been growing calls for Smith to be sacked as captain after he admitted being the mastermind of a premeditated plan to change the condition of the ball on the third day of the Test in Newlands on SaturdayFollowing discussions with Steve Smith and David Warner they have agreed to stand down as captain and vicecaptain respectively for the remainder of this Test match CA chief James Sutherland said in a statement Sutherland said Tim Paine would step in as acting captain for the remainder of the TestThis Test match needs to proceed and in the interim we will continue to investigate this matter with the urgency that it demands he added Both Steve and David will take to the field today under Tims captaincySutherland earlier Sunday announced an investigation into the scandal which has plunged Australian cricket into crisis and resulted in widespread condemnation at home including from Prime Minister Malcolm TurnbullCAs head of integrity Iain Roy and head of team performance Pat Howard were flying to South Africa to conduct the investigation All Australians like us want answers and we will keep you updated on our findings as a matter of priority the CA head addedTelevision footage had showed Smiths teammate Cameron Bancroft 25 taking a yellow object out of his pocket while fielding in the postlunch session and appearing to rub it on the ball He was later charged with attempting to change the condition of the ballSmith 28 has earlier said he would not quit as he felt he was still the right person for the jobSome Twitter reactions to the balltampering scandalRabada incidentDekock vs WarnerShami ControversySL vs Ban on field issueAustralia ball tamperingShami met with car accidentCricketing World having toughest two weeksmdash Broken Cricket BrokenCricket March 25 2018That SteveSmith along with other senior players planned Ball Tampering is disappointing but he involved young Cameron Bancroft in the plan is disgraceful I believe he should take responsibility amp step down from captaincy immediately to set a better example instead AusVsSamdash R P Singh rpsingh March 25 2018No one likes a cheat so when they get caught out there are consequences balltampering resign SteveSmith As the truth emerges about Leave dodgy funding abuse of social media fake claims amp phoney promises letrsquos make sure the voters they cheated hold them to account Brexitmdash Anna Soubry MP Anna_Soubry March 25 2018Australia Captain SteveSmith And Vicecaptain David Warner Step Down For Rest Of 3rd Test Against SAHow Can They Be Allowed To Play After Such A Horrific Ball Tampering Incident Must Be Banned For Lifetime If You Cant Respect The Game You Have No Right To Play It SAvsAUS pictwittercomvE5gW68cw8mdash Sir Ravindra Jadeja SirJadeja March 25 2018I sure hope the South Africans donrsquot sledge Australia about the ball tampering because if the roles were reversed theyrsquod be no way the Australians would SAvAUSmdash Titus OReily TitusOReily March 25 2018Smith amp Warner are only stepping down for the remainder of the South African Test but will still play in the match Tim Paine to be acting captain Investigation into balltampering cheating incident continues says Cricket Australiamdash Karen Middleton KarenMMiddleton March 25 2018The real winners of the Australian ball tampering are England Everyone has forgotten they got bowled out for 58 this week SAvAUS pictwittercomsA15PvmGxAmdash Ben Karpinski followthebounce March 25 2018See how much swing the Aussies have been getting in the last 3 tests Could there have been more ball tampering pictwittercomVatg72FrU3mdash Michael Jordaan MichaelJordaan March 25 2018Ball tampering costs Steve Smiths his honour and probably his career Cheating is pervasive Shameful to see those lecturing others indulging in the same crime and even worse AustralianCricketCrisismdash Syed Talat Hussain TalatHussain12 March 25 2018Ball tamperingKidsAdultsLegends pictwittercomIaLS0pa99Umdash Sid theesmaarkhan March 25 2018Also read Australian opener Cameron Bancroft caught tampering with ball in Cape TownCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever