Steve Smith and David Warner, the senior partners in the ball-tampering conspiracy, have each been banned for 12 months.

Cameron Bancroft, the junior player tasked with carrying out the doctoring of the ball, has been banned for nine months.

The sentences were confirmed by Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland, who had promised ‘significant’ sanctions against the three players.

Also, Smith will not be considered for the captaincy for the Australian team for two years, while Warner will never be considered.

They will be permitted to play club cricket, and according to Cricket Australia, will be encouraged to do so ‘to maintain links with the cricket community’. In addition, all three players will be required to undertake 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket.

ALSO READ: IPL kicks out Smith, Warner

The IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla has also confirmed that Warner and Smith will not play in the IPL this year – which means they’ve each lost out on contracts worth $2.5-million (about R30-million). Both had already resigned the captaincy of their teams, the Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, respectively.

All three players will be free to play in next year’s World Cup in England, starting on 30 May 2019. In the meantime, Smith and Warner will miss Tests against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, India (four), Sri Lanka (two) and Pakistan (three), as well as the five-match ODI series against South Africa in Australia in October-November.

In a press conference on Tuesday night, Sutherland emphasised that only those three players were involved.

‘No other players or support staff had prior knowledge and this includes Darren Lehmann, who despite inaccurate media reports, has not resigned from his position,’ Sutherland said. ‘He will continue to coach the Australian men’s team under his current contract.’

ALSO READ: Aussies DID use sandpaper

Unconfirmed reports suggest Smith will cancel his IPL contract with the Royals and take a break from cricket. He stood down from the captaincy of the IPL team earlier this week.

Warner also gave up the captaincy of Hyderabad and he lost a major sponsorship when electronics giant LG said they would not renew their deal with him.

Bancroft’s contract with Somerset in the County Championship is also under threat.

Director of cricket at Somerset, Andy Hurry, said the county was following events closely.

‘We are aware that Cricket Australia are following their internal processes.

‘We appreciate there is a lot of emotion, disappointment and media surrounding the on-field incidents during last Saturday’s third Test match in Cape Town and it is imperative we follow our appropriate processes that will enable us to make the right decision for us as a club in due course.’

Smith has not missed a Test since March 2013 in India, a streak of 59 matches in which he has scored 23 Test centuries, handed the Test captaincy and ascended to the top of the Test batting rankings.

Full statement from Cricket Australia:

Following the announcements made yesterday in Johannesburg, the Cricket Australia Board has met again today to consider the report of the investigation into the incident in Cape Town.

The key finding from the investigation was that prior knowledge of the incident was confined to three players, Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

Key findings:

Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft have been charged with a breach of Article 2.3.5 of the CA Code of Conduct, namely that their conduct:

(a) was contrary to the spirit of the game;
(b) was unbecoming of a representative or official;
(c) is or could be harmful to the interests of cricket; and/or
(d) did bring the game of cricket into disrepute.

In respect of the individual players concerned, Cricket Australia advises the following:

Steve Smith was charged with a breach of Article 2.3.5 of the CA Code of Conduct based on:

(a) knowledge of a potential plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball;
(b) failure to take steps to seek to prevent the development and implementation of that plan;
(c) directing that evidence of attempted tampering be concealed on the field of play;
(d) seeking to mislead Match Officials and others regarding Bancroft’s attempts to artificially alter the condition of the ball; and
(e) misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent and participants of the plan

David Warner was charged with a breach of Article 2.3.5 of the CA Code of Conduct based on:

(a) development of a plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball;
(b) instruction to a junior player to carry out a plan to take steps to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball using sandpaper;
(c) provision of advice to a junior player regarding how a ball could be artificially altered including demonstrating how it could be done;
(d) failure to take steps to seek to prevent the development and/or implementation of the plan;
(e) failure to report his knowledge of the plan at any time prior to or during the match;
(f) misleading Match Officials through the concealment of his knowledge of and involvement in the plan; and
(g) failure to voluntarily report his knowledge of the plan after the match

Cameron Bancroft was charged with a breach of Article 2.3.5 of the CA Code of Conduct based on:

(a) knowledge of the existence of, and being party to, the plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball using sandpaper;
(b) carrying out instructions to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball;
(c) seeking to conceal evidence of his attempts to artificially alter the condition of the ball;
(d) seeking to mislead Match Officials and others regarding his attempts to artificially alter the condition of the ball; and
(e) misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent, implementation and participants of the plan

Summary of sanctions

The range of sanctions available to Cricket Australia under Article 2.3.5 are extensive. The CA Board determined sanctions that would be appropriate in each player’s case, following their review of the report.

The Board has considered the recommendations and determined that the following sanctions will be offered to each player in accordance with the CA Code of Conduct process

Steve Smith – Suspension of 12 months from all international and domestic cricket
David Warner – Suspension of 12 months from all international and domestic cricket
Cameron Bancroft – Suspension of 9 months from all international and domestic cricket

All three players will be permitted to play club cricket and will be encouraged to do so to maintain links with the cricket community.

In addition, all three players will be required to undertake 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket.

Leadership

Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft will not be considered for team leadership positions until a minimum of 12 months after the conclusion of their respective suspensions from international and domestic cricket. Any consideration of future leadership would be conditional on acceptance by fans and the public, form and authority among the playing group. David Warner will not be considered for team leadership positions in the future.

Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images