Disgraced cricketer Steve Smith has announced he will not challenge his year-long ban from the game for cheating.
The former Australian captain, who turned a blind eye to his teammates ball-tampering against South Africa last month, released a statement on Twitter this afternoon.
He said: ‘I would give anything to have this behind me and be back representing my country.
Disgraced cricketer Steve Smith has announced he will not challenge his year-long ban from the game for cheating
‘But I meant what I said about taking full responsibility as Captain of the team.
‘I won’t be challenging the sanctions. They’ve been imposed by CA to send a strong message and I have accepted them.’
It comes after former vice captain David Warner has repeatedly refused to answer questions on whether he will appeal.
On Tuesday the disgraced batsman walked through the Melbourne with his ironwoman wife Candice while appearing to be on the phone as he was approached by a reporter.
He said: ‘Can I just give you a buzz back mate – I’m being hounded by a channel 10 reporter’ before hanging up.
Warner then repeatedly ignored questions on whether he is going to appeal his year-long cricket ban as his silent wife remained expressionless.
David Warner again refused to answer questions about the ball-tampering scandal as he touched down at Melbourne airport
The disgraced batsman walked through the terminal with his ironwoman wife Candice while appearing to be on the phone as he was approached
He said: ‘Can I just give you a buzz back mate – I’m being hounded by a channel 10 reporter’ before hanging up.
Mrs Warner walked alongside her husband and held his hand once he put his phone in his pocket.
When the pair got to a pedestrian crossing outside the building, Warner told the reporter to ‘watch out’ for traffic and walked on.
Warner was widely criticised for his heavily scripted and melodramatic press conference on Saturday in which he spectacularly failed to shed light on his decision to cheat against South Africa on March 24.
He refused to answer questions on who was responsible for the plot during the conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
It comes after reports Warner could snitch on his teammates and accuse them of cheating to get out of his year-long ban.
The former vice-captain, accused of masterminding Australia’s ball-tampering plot, will likely face an independent commissioner next week in a bid to reduce his punishment.
David Warner could get his ban reduced if he proves that more players knew about the cheating or if he reveals that other players have cheated in the past, it has been reported
Australia’s captain Steve Smith leads his team including David Warner (right), off the field after their defeat on the fourth day of the second Test cricket match between South Africa and Australia on March 12. There is no suggestion any players except Bancroft, Warner and Smith were involved
His legal team has reportedly requested transcripts of Cricket Australia interviews with individual players conducted in the team’s Cape Town hotel after the scandal.
Warner could get his ban reduced if he proves that more players knew about the cheating or if he reveals that other players have cheated in the past, the Daily Telegraph reports.
He could ‘tip the bucket’ on Australian cricket, the newspaper alleges.
In a press conference on the day of the cheating, captain Steven Smith said: ‘the leadership group knew about it.’
So far only Smith, Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft – who rubbed the ball with sandpaper during the afternoon session of the third Test on 24 March – are accused of knowing about the plot to cheat.
Warner and Smith have been banned for a year and Bancroft for nine months.
The pair have now assembled high-powered legal teams and are expected to fight their bans, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.