Steve Smith has been stood down as Australian cricket captain.

Smith yesterday confessed to coming up with a plan with senior players to cheat South Africa by tampering with the ball in the third test.

Smith and Cameron Bancroft, the fielder chosen to carry out the tampering, admitted to cheating after Bancroft was caught on television using a piece of sticky tape to rub dirt into the ball, then trying to hide the tape down his trousers when umpires suspected something was up.

Now, Smith has been stood down as captain for the remainder of the test, while David Warner has also been stood down as vice captain. Tim Paine will act as captain for the remainder of the test.