Updated March 28, 2018 04:53:34

Photo: David Warner (pictured) as well as Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft have been sent home from South Africa. (AP: Halden Krog)

Cricket Australia says it is considering significant sanctions against Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, but Darren Lehmann has not resigned as Australian men's cricket head coach.

Captain Smith, vice-captain Warner and opener Bancroft have all been sent home from South Africa.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland insisted no other players or support staff had prior knowledge of the intention to ball tamper, including Lehmann.

Lehmann will continue to coach the men's team under his current contract. Tim Paine has been officially appointed as Test captain.

Sutherland said the three players had been officially reported for breaching article 2.3.5 of Cricket Australia's Code of Conduct — for conduct contrary to the spirit of the game — with sanctions to be announced in the next 24 hours.

Batting trio Matthew Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell and Joe Burns will be flown in as replacements for the team.

Photo: Steve Smith originally said only the 'leadership group' had knowledge of the incident, which appears to be just him and David Warner. (AP: Halden Krog)

"I want to stress we are contemplating significant sanctions in each case," Sutherland said in the Johannesburg press conference.

"These sanctions will reflect the gravity with which we view what has occurred and the damage it has done to Australian cricket.

"I fully understand the appetite for urgency for more detail, however urgency must be balanced with due process given the serious implications for all involved."

The ball-tampering scandal saw Bancroft attempt to hide a piece of tape from umpires after appearing to run it over the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

The incident, which has rocked Australian cricket, proved to be a crippling distraction for the team as they lost by a mammoth 322 runs at Newlands.

Smith initially confessed he and his leadership group instructed Bancroft to tamper with the ball on day three, with Bancroft admitting to the offence and copping a charge from match officials. Smith was suspended for one Test by the ICC.

As vice-captain, Warner was a key cog in that leadership group. During his post-play press conference, Smith refused to "name names" when queried who in the leadership group discussed tampering with the ball.

The incident has also shaken the public's trust in the team, for so long held up on a pedestal for its supposed hard-but-fair approach to the game.

CA's head of high performance Pat Howard headed a formal review of the incident, and was joined by Sutherland, who flew to Johannesburg on Monday.

Tim Paine was given the nod as stand-in skipper on day four as Australia lost 10 wickets in the final session at the hands of South Africa's merciless bowlers.

Meanwhile, Matthew Renshaw is being flown in to South Africa after being added to the Test squad, after he hit the winning runs in an unbeaten 81 to help Queensland defeat Tasmania by nine wickets in the Sheffield Shield final.

Bancroft had replaced Renshaw as Warner's opening partner ahead of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane last November.

Renshaw's form had been patchy at that stage but he had been expected to keep his place after appearing in Australia's previous 10 Tests.

Renshaw, who turns 22 on Wednesday, improved with the bat later in the Shield season, however, posting three centuries as the Bulls advanced to the final.

Topics: cricket, sport, australia, south-africa

First posted March 28, 2018 04:28:51