Darren Lehmann cleared in cheating scandal with Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft sent home

Australia’s head coach Darren Lehmann has been absolved of any involvement in the ball-tampering scandal by Cricket Australia and will retain his position in charge of the team.

The captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opening batsman Cameron Bancroft were identified as the only three with prior knowledge of the plan to alter the condition of the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town, and will find out their fate within the next 24 hours.

In what is the biggest scandal in Australian cricket history, Smith is set to be stood down as captain of the Test, one-day and Twenty20 sides by Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, with Warner removed as vice-captain and Tim Paine installed as the official captain of the Test side.

“The key finding is that the prior knowledge of ball-tampering was limited to three players,” said Sutherland at a press conference on Tuesday. “I understand the appetite for urgency given the reputation of Australia as a sporting nation has been damaged in the eyes of many. However, urgency must be balanced with due process given the serious implications for all involved."

He added that they would face “significant sanctions”.

The trio will fly home on Wednesday and will be replaced by Matt Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell and Joe Burns for the final Test in Johannesburg. Smith had already been handed a one-Test ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC), having confessed to intentionally cheating in a press conference after the close of play.

Cricket Australia will now carry out a wider investigation into the “conduct and culture” of the Australian cricket team following heated series both against South Africa and during the recent Ashes.

“We apologise to Cricket South Africa and South Africa fans that this issue has overshadowed what should have been a wonderful series,” Sutherland said. ”It’s not a good day for Australian cricket.”

The cricket world was rocked on Saturday when Bancroft was caught trying to change the state of the ball on day three of the third Test against South Africa after he rubbed a piece of yellow sticky tape with dirt stuck to it on the rough side of the ball in order to try and produce reverse swing.

After replays of it were shown on the big screen at Newlands, Bancroft reacted by putting the tape down the front of his trousers, before confessing in a press conference later that day to deliberately ball-tampering and “panicking” once he realised he had been caught.

Asked if he believed this was the only time the Australian team had attempted to cheat, Sutherland said he could not be sure. “I hope it’s an isolated incident,” he said.

The scandal has drawn heavy criticism in Australia, with prime minister Malcolm Turnbull labelling it “a disgrace” on the country. “This cheating is ... it is a disgrace. We all know that, it is a terrible disgrace,” Turnbull said.

“They [Cricket Australia] now have to make sure that this great, national game, this great international game that is synonymous with fair play, is once again a game that is played by champions, that everybody can look up to.

“Cricket Australia is dealing with it, they have to investigate it and they have to act, continue to act decisively and emphatically. We want to get to the point where we can all say once again, not rhetorically but heartfelt and with sincerity, that cricket is a fair game, cricket is a game that is synonymous with a fair go and fair play, that is what has to happen.”

Former Australian cricket Trevor Chappell, who was involved in Australia’s previous biggest controversy in the sport 37 years ago, believes that the decision to cheat – and subsequently getting caught – could now haunt Smith, Warner and Bancroft for the rest of their lives.

Chappell infamously bowled underarm in the final over against New Zealand in the third one-day final of the 1981 World Series Cup, preventing their opponents from scoring the six runs that they needed to win the match, having been told to do so by his captain and brother Greg. Speaking about the after-effects of that decision, Chappell believes it cost him his marriage and took a mental toll on him that he has struggled to cope with, and he feels that those involved in the current ordeal could now face something similar.

“They’ll have to live with what they’ve done forever,” said Chappell. “Whether it haunts them for the rest of their lives is down to them but I haven’t been able to shake off what happened to me in 37 years.

“What I did has lived with me ever since and it will be the same for Smith and Bancroft. They will struggle for the rest of their lives and be known as the ones who brought Australian cricket into disrepute.”