5 Captains who have been charged for ball-tampering 

#1 Steve Smith – South Africa vs Australia, Cape Town (2018)

Smith and Bancroft admitted in the press conference that they tried to alter the state of the ball.

The Steve Smith-led Australia had handed a 4-0 Ashes drubbing to England and embanked the tour of South Africa with good confidence. They won the first Test handsomely but the hosts came back strongly in the second to square the four-match series.

It was a riveting battle as both teams were fighting tooth and nail to win the series. In the third Test in Cape Town, the Proteas batted first and scored 311. Australia fell short in their reply as they managed to get to just 255. After bagging a handy 56-run lead, South Africa looked in a good position of controlling the game.

But all hell broke loose when Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera trying to alter the condition of the ball with a yellow tape. Skipper Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft admitted in the post-day press conference that it was a deliberate and pre-planned and the leadership group were aware of it. They thought it would give them some advantage with the ball and aid reverse swing.

Smith and David Warner (who was a part of the leadership group) were removed as captain and vice-captain respectively in the middle of the Test match. They were also banned for one Test match by the ICC. Bancroft got away with three demerit points by Cricket Australia handed him a 9-month ban. Smith and Warner were given one-year punishments (bans) by Cricket Australia.