Sandpaper gate | ICC suspends Steve Smith for one Test as Cameron Bancroft escapes ban

The Australian skipper and Bancroft, who were involved in the act, decided to attend a joint press conference after the video of Bancroft tampering the ball was captured by the television cameras and replayed in detail on the big screen at the ground. After the third day's play at Newlands, Bancroft stated that he had used yellow sticky tape to pick up granules from the pitch and rub them on the ball so as to change its conditions and Smith admitted that the idea was discussed among the "leadership group" including himself.

After admitting the same, it was blatantly clear that Smith would be handed a suspension anyway and everyone was waiting for the report to come out today. The final verdict, however, would make Australian fans happy as the skipper has been charged with only one-Test ban. The original culprit, Bancroft, who was seemingly asked to do the act on the field, surprisingly escaped punishment from the International Cricket Council.

The Australian skipper was charged by ICC chief executive David Richardson, who fined the former the 100 percent of his match fee to go with the one-Test ban. Four demerit points have also been added on his record.

Speaking on the incident, match referee Andy Pycroft said, "To carry a foreign object onto the field of play with the intention of changing the condition of the ball to gain an unfair advantage over your opponent is against not only the Laws, but the Spirit of the game as well.

"That said, I acknowledge that Cameron has accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty to the charge and apologising publicly. As a young player starting out in international cricket, I hope the lessons learned from this episode will strongly influence the way he plays the game during the rest of his career."