Australian cricketers admit ball tampering against South Africa

Australia cricketers have admitted cheating in their Test match against South Africa by tampering with the ball.

Television cameras caught batsman Cameron Bancroft holding a small yellow object during the third day's play in Cape Town, which he tried in his underwear.

He later revealed it was a piece of sticky tape used to rough up the ball, which is strictly prohibited in cricket, and he was charged with ball tampering by match officials after the day's play.

In a hugely embarrassing moment for Australian cricket, captain Steve Smith admitted senior players planned the idea to try to bring their team back into the match.

But he claimed Australia's coaches were unaware of the cheating and insisted he would not resign the captaincy.

"I'm embarrassed," Smith said.

"I sit before you today and I'm not proud of it at all."

Bancroft said he had tried to pick up rough granules from the side of the pitch with the sticky tape and rub it on the ball to try and change its condition.

That would likely aid the ball to reverse swing, which has been a huge factor in the series.

Multiple slow-motion replays on TV and broadcast on the big screen at Newlands showed Bancroft holding the small piece of tape in one hand and pressing it against the ball as he tried to rough it up.

He tried to hide the piece of tape in his pants after umpires called him over to question what he had been doing.

"Having done that I panicked quite a lot and that obviously resulted in me shoving it down my trousers," Bancroft said.

Although the two on-field umpires, Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong, both from England, questioned Bancroft at the time, he produced what appeared to be a black sunglasses bag from his right pocket in way of explanation.

No action was taken by the umpires at the time, but match officials including referee Andy Pycroft from Zimbabwe were able to review TV footage of the incident.

South Africa ended the third day of the third Test on 238-5 in their second innings, a lead of 294 runs. The series is currently tied 1-1.