Cricket Australia took a bold decision to ban both Steve Smith and David Warner for a one-year period on Wednesday.
Smith, who landed in Australia on Thursday from South Africa, attended the press conference in Sydney to say his side of the story.
Smith was visibly highly emotional at the press conference, starting his statement handing out an apology for his role in the ball-tampering saga.
Smith revealed that he made a big error in judgement and has understood fully the consequences which he is now facing. He also admitted that it was a big failure of his leadership skills as he began to choke up. Smith also confessed that cricket was the biggest love of his life, saying, “I will regret this for the rest of my life. I’m absolutely gutted. I hope in time I can earn back respect and forgiveness. Cricket is the greatest sport in the world. It’s been my life. I’m absolutely devastated.”
He added that he had let everyone down, especially his parents when he completely broke down, leaving the journalists in the room and the cricketing world as a whole stunned.
