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Smith facing humiliation and ban after admitting to cheating Cricket Australia stunned by scandal and vicious backlash

STEVE SMITH faces the boot from Aussie cricket chiefs after their cheating captain was banned by the ICC over the ball-tampering scandal.

Smith (left) was kicked out of the next Test against South Africa and fined 100 per cent of his match fee just hours after being stripped of his captaincy duties by Cricket Australia in the Test which ended yesterday.

But that could be just the start of his punishment, with CA reeling from the revelations and a vicious backlash Down Under. Chief executive James Sutherland

has set the wheels in motion that could see several members of the set-up pay with their jobs, including head coach Darren Lehmann, after Smith admitted the team’s “leadership group” had spoken about a plan to tamper with the ball in Cape Town. Sutherland said: “Our captain admitted to conduct outside both the laws of our game and the spirit of cricket. This behaviour calls into question the integrity of the team and Cricket Australia.” Cameron Bancroft, the player who was caught in the act, escaped with a fine of 75 per cent of his match fee and three demerit points by the ICC, but is clear to continue playing, while David Warner was relieved of his vice-captaincy for the Test. Former Aussie bowler Jason Gillespie, now head coach at Sussex, said: “It appears there will be big changes on and off the field. It is still a shock.”