Australian Captain Steve Smith and vice-skipper David Warner have been banned for a year by Cricket Australia over the recent ball-tampering scandal in the Third Test against South Africa.

Cameron Bancroft, who carried out the cheating, was given a nine-month ban.

A key finding from the investigation was that sandpaper was used by Bancroft to rough up the ball, which goes against what Bancroft said after play on Saturday when he and Smith fronted the press at Newlands.

Warner was found to have been responsible for the “development of a plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball”, and “instruction to a junior player to carry out a plan”.

The former vice-captain was also charged with providing advice to a junior player on how to tamper with the ball “including demonstrating how it could be done”.

Warner also misled match officials at Newlands by concealing his knowledge of and involvement in the plan and did not voluntarily report his involvement.

Smith’s ban, meanwhile, was based on him knowing of the plan but failing to take steps to prevent it.

He was also found to have “misled match officials and others regarding Bancroft’s attempts to artificially alter the condition of the ball” and “misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent and participants of the plan”.

Bancroft, the most junior member of the playing XI in Cape Town, was charged based on being party to the plan to tamper with the ball, carrying out Warner’s instructions, following Smith’s direction to conceal the evidence and his own lies to mislead match officials and the public.

Warner, in addition to his suspension, will not be considered for any leadership position in the future, while Smith and Bancroft must wait 12 months after serving their ban before they can be considered for a leadership role.

The offending trio had already been sent home from Australia’s tour – before the fourth Test begins on Friday.

However, in the wake of being suspended, Smith and Warner have both had their Indian Premier League contracts torn up. The pair were on $2.4 million contracts each before the IPL banned them from the 2018 season.