The International Cricket Council has banned Australia captain Steve Smith for one match for his role in a ball- tampering plot in the ongoing third test against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town.

Batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was the man tasked with doing the tampering on the field, received three disciplinary demerit points and fined 75% of his match fee after accepting the Level 2 charge.

Smith, who stood down temporarily as captain of the team, will now miss the final Test of the series against the Proteas in Johannesburg.

Both player had confessed to trying to cheat against South Africa by tampering with the ball using a piece of yellow adhesive tape and some dirt in order to get the ball to swing.

In its ruling, the ICC said Smith admitted that he was “party to a decision to attempt to change the condition of the ball in order to gain an unfair advantage.”

ICC chief executive David Richardson laid the charge against Smith under Article 2.2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct which prohibits to ‘all types of conduct of a serious nature that is contrary to the spirit of the game’.

“The decision made by the leadership group of the Australian team to act in this way is clearly contrary to the spirit of the game, risks causing significant damage to the integrity of the match, the players and the sport itself and is therefore ‘serious’ in nature. As captain, Steve Smith must take full responsibility for the actions of his players and it is appropriate that he be suspended,” ICC CEO David Richardson said.