Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland has flown to South Africa as part of the investigation into the ball tampering controversy that has engulfed the Test team with an update on the progress of that inquiry expected on Wednesday.
Sutherland will join CA’s Executive General Manager Team Performance Pat Howard and Senior Legal Counsel and Head of Integrity Iain Roy in Johannesburg, where the Australia team will travel to on Tuesday in preparation for the final Test against South Africa starting Friday.
In a statement released late on Monday, Sutherland said he plans to meet with Roy in Johannesburg to be briefed on the investigation that was conducted with the team in Cape Town and to determine any course of action undertaken by CA.
He said the inquiry is being carried out “as a matter of urgency”, and that the findings it yielded will be shared with the public to be kept updated on its progress.
CA chairman David Peever said the board of directors had been fully briefed on the issue as it stands, and he expected there would be information to share publicly within 48 hours.
“The Cricket Australia Board has been fully updated on the issue and supports James travelling to South Africa to manage the response to the investigation currently underway,” Peever said.
“We expect to be able to fully update the Australian public on the findings on Wednesday morning.
“We understand that everyone wants answers, but we must follow our due diligence before any further decisions are made.”
Roy arrived in Cape Town on Monday and has begun an investigation into the details surrounding Saturday’s decision that Smith confirmed was taken by the team’s ‘leadership group’ to tamper with the ball in order to impact the outcome of the third Test, in breach of the game’s laws and ICC Code of Conduct.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, who laid the charges against Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft that also cost the Australia captain his full match fee and the pair four and three demerit points respectively, issued a strongly-worded warning to cricket administrations worldwide about player behaviour.
“The game needs to have a hard look at itself,” Richardson said, specifically citing the ill-tempered series between Australia and South Africa and a volatile Sri Lanka-Bangladesh T20 International in Colombo.
CA also refuted erroneous media reports from earlier on Monday that Smith had already left South Africa and was flying to home to Sydney, given his enforced absence from the final Test.
