Smith‚ Warner step down as captain‚ vice-captain for rest of Newlands Test

Steve Smith and David Warner have stepped down as Australia’s captain and vice-captain for the rest of the third test against South Africa at Newlands over the ball-tampering scandal.

Cameron Bancroft admitted to rubbing sanded sticking tape on the ball after television cameras caught him redhanded on Saturday.

Smith said the plan had been hatched by his team’s “leadership group”.

“Following discussions with Steve Smith and David Warner they have agreed to stand down as captain and vice-Captain respectively for the remainder of this test match‚” a release quoted Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland as saying.

“This test match needs to proceed‚ and in the interim we will continue to investigate this matter with the urgency that it demands.

“As I said earlier today‚ CA and Australian cricket fans expect certain standards of conduct from cricketers representing our country‚ and on this occasion these standards have not been met.”

Wicketkeeper Tim Paine‚ who is playing his 12th test‚ has been named as stand-in captain.

“Both Steve and David will take to the field today under Tim's captaincy‚” the release quoted CA chair David Peever as saying.

"The board fully supports the process for an immediate investigation into what occurred in Cape Town.

“We regard this as a matter of the utmost seriousness and urgency.

“We will ensure we have all information available to make the right decisions for Australian cricket.”