Australia‘s Steve Smith has been handed a one-Test suspension and fined 100 per cent of his match fees for his admission to taking part in the decision to tamper with the ball during the third day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa.

The now stood down skipper was found to be guilty of the breach of Article 2.2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for players and player support personnel. The article prohibits ‘all types of conduct of a serious nature that are contrary to the spirit of the game’.

Smith has also been awarded four demerit points for his conduct which sees him automatically suspended for the final Test. Cameron Bancroft has been fined 75 per cent of his match fees and been awarded three demerit points for his role in the controversy after being found guilty of breaching Article 2.2.9 which relates to changing the conditions of the ball.

Both players have been slapped with Level 2 charges and have accepted the sanctions imposed on them.

The controversy emerged on Saturday after Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera tampering the ball with a sticky tape.

The players, along with the skipper, then admitted to their crime in the post-day press conference with Smith saying it was a decision made by the ‘leadership group’ in the squad.

Following his admission, Smith and deputy David Warner were stood down from their positions with immediate effect by Cricket Australia while wicket-keeper Tim Paine was elevated to the role of captaincy for the ongoing Cape Town Test.

Cricket Australia have also opened their own investigation into the incident which has been marked as ‘dark day’ for Australian cricket.