David Warner has labelled the plan to tamper with a ball during a Test match against South Africa a ‘stain on the game’.
The former Australia vice-captain has been charged with devising the plot which saw Cameron Bancroft rough the ball with sandpaper at the Cape Town Test.
He, along with captain Steve Smith, have been banned from international and domestic cricket for 12 months, while Bancroft was also sanctioned for his role by Cricket Australia.
Disgraced Australian cricketer David Warner was hit with a 12-month ban for ball-tampering
Posting on Twitter, Warner said: ‘Mistakes have been made which have damaged cricket.
‘I apologise for my part and take responsibility for it. I understand the distress this has caused the sport and its fans.
‘It’s a stain on the game we all love and I have loved since I was a boy.’
It comes as former captain Smith is due to face the media in Sydney after being sent home from South Africa in disgrace.
Australia cheated during the third Test match against South Africa in Cape Town last weekend
Cameron Bancroft was seen running his hand over the ball, before removing a yellow object from his pocket and placing it down the front of his trousers
Warner was charged with devising the plot to use sandpaper to rough up the ball
In announcing the severe punishments, CA revealed Warner, 31, had been charged with devising the plan, instructing a junior player – Bancroft – to carry it out and even demonstrating how to do it.
Warner and Smith had already stepped down from their roles as skipper for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals respectively before their punishment was announced, and the IPL has since confirmed both men would be banned ‘with immediate effect from participation’ in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament this year.
All three players, sent home from South Africa, will be permitted to play club cricket to maintain links with the cricket community.
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