Things came to a standstill, as a tearful and inconsolable Steve Smith faced up to the press post his disgraceful return from South Africa, after the ball-tampering scandal in the Cape Town Test.
Steve Smith and David Warner have been given 12 months ban, while Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month ban from Cricket Australia.
During the press conference in Sydney, Smith tearfully asked for forgiveness from his fans and the Australian people. “To all of my teammates, fans of cricket all over the world and to all Australians who are disappointed and angry … I’m sorry,” Smith said.
The fallen captain said he was “absolutely gutted”, and that he would regret what had happened “for the rest of my life”.
“I hope in time I can earn back respect and forgiveness,” Smith added.
Cricket fraternity reacted on Twitter after Steve Smith’s apology at the press conference.
Here are some of the tweets:
I may be getting emotional but @stevesmith49 doesn’t look to me a cheat. Don’t know about u but I see in him a desperate leader trying to win a Test match for his country, his team. Yes, indeed, his methods were questionable but let’s not label him corrupt #BallTamperingScandal pic.twitter.com/xOxAM45QXM
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) March 29, 2018
Feel sorry for @stevesmith49 dad (in pic) other family members. Hope media n Aussie public go easy on them as families can be soft targets. More than d ban living wid this feeling of being called a cheat is a bigger punishment. #BallTamperingRow pic.twitter.com/L2sV8BgWAH
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) March 29, 2018
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) March 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/979348049398034432
DEVASTATING!
— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) March 29, 2018
‘Good people make mistakes’ .. I honestly think Steve Smith & Cam Bancroft are decent guys who had a moment of madness .. they deserve a 2nd chance and hopefully get the right support around them now .. Takes a lot guts to do what they did today ..
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 29, 2018
— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) March 29, 2018
Fair play Bancroft and Steve Smith taking it head on and fronting up. That was hard to watch and can’t imagine what they’re going through .People make mistakes but being able to own up and take responsibility takes guts.
— Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) March 29, 2018
Hope in time I can earn forgiveness says Steve Smith.
He has already got mine.
Cricketers have done worse & never admitted their guilt.#StevenSmith— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) March 29, 2018
Feel the pain he is going through. Waiting for him to come back soon and cause delight to fans across the world with his supreme batsmanship. Remember Warne served a 1 year ban for a banned substance and came back with 26 wkts in 3 tests against SL. https://t.co/u6gE93aPvM
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 29, 2018
So very hard to watch, well done Smithy and Bangas, horrible to see the pain they are in! They did wrong but will be back bigger and better! #goodyoungmen
— Ryan Harris (@r_harris413) March 29, 2018
Just bloody awful! The boy is distraught and devastated! Smith will come back and he will be bigger and better! https://t.co/udD9f14WRT
— Dean Jones AM (@ProfDeano) March 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/979300760856027136
https://twitter.com/MitchJohnson398/status/979280408217923584
Genuine, raw and emotional. A strikingly contrite response to the hysteria, outrage and vitriol clogging up the feeds. I could barely keep it together watching that. A bad mistake won’t define for me the character I’ve seen for a decade. Good human, bad choice. Still a good human
— Peter Nevill (@pmnevill) March 29, 2018
Heartbreaking to watch Smith and Bancroft…hopefully this is the end of it all now!!
— Charlotte Edwards (@C_Edwards23) March 29, 2018
Tough watching the Smith and Bancroft press conferences this morning. A hard & painful fall. The next 12 months will be a more about whether they can mentally come back & whether the Aussies can forgive. Tough thing to overcome.
— Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent MBE (@ejrainfordbrent) March 29, 2018
You gave us a lot of joy with the bat, Steve….it’s unfortunate and devastating to see this. Hope you bounce back stronger. #SandpaperGate #SteveSmith https://t.co/A4burwbzBz
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 29, 2018
Really feel sorry for him, a one year ban is a bit harsh…. hopefully all this is over now! https://t.co/4Gd0g3GWGN
— Marizanne Kapp (@kappie777) March 29, 2018
Kudos for taking it on the chin https://t.co/Ic5sO8aeJw
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 29, 2018
