Smith, Bancroft chose to front Cape Town press conference

The Australian Cricketers Association has taken aim at Cricket Australia for its handling of events on the afternoon the ball-tampering scandal exploded, but it has emerged that Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were insistent on explaining their actions to the public.

The ACA has made it clear repeatedly that it believes Smith and Bancroft should not have been allowed to front the media, or at least be ordered to be more vigilant in their responses, after day three of play at Newlands, when Bancroft had been caught using what later was found to be a piece of sandpaper to scuff the ball and had been reported by match officials.

Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith face the media in Cape Town.Credit: AFP

ACA president Greg Dyer, a former Test gloveman, said on Tuesday he had sworn while watching the media conference, so angry was he that Smith and Bancroft had been allowed to participate. That conference had been delayed by an hour, for Bancroft had appeared before match referee Andy Pycroft and been charged.

However, Fairfax Media can confirm Smith and Bancroft had insisted they front the press, despite CA suggesting to the pair that they wait a day to consider the ramifications of going public.

Smith, not wanting the issue to hang over his head with the crucial match continuing, was adamant about appearing despite being warned about the consequences of what he might say.

He was advised that if he did front up he should offer few details, claim he was constrained in what he could say because Bancroft had been charged, and promise a fuller account at a later time. But such was his anguish at what had transpired during the lunch break, when he failed to stop a plan orchestrated by David Warner and carried out by Bancroft, that he felt the need to unburden himself. Those who know Smith well say it's in his nature to confront any problems head on.

Smith could have appeared alone at the media conference but it's understood Bancroft made it clear he wanted to join his skipper, as he would suggest when quizzed by reporters.

"Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I want to be here (at the media conference) because I am accountable for my actions as well," Bancroft said.

The ACA have been made aware that the claim about the players being rushed to appear before the public is not correct.

There have been suggestions Smith added to the controversy with his honest responses. Where, had he not spoken, the issue may have been purely about ball tampering, his comments about the team's and sport's integrity meant there was little choice but for CA to charge him with bringing the game into disrepute.

“I’m not proud of what’s happened. It’s not within the spirit of the game,” Smith said.

“My integrity, the team’s integrity, the leadership group’s integrity has come into question and rightfully so. It's not on.”

Smith said "deep down" he would have regretted the ball tampering if this had not been caught on television. Despite declaring at the media conference he would not step down as leader, within hours he and vice-captain Warner had vacated their leadership responsibilities mid-Test.

Only Bancroft was charged by the International Cricket Council for ball tampering. He was fined 75 per cent of his match fee and handed three demerit points but cleared to play in the fourth Test. Smith was given a one-Test ban and fined 100 per cent of his match fee by the ICC for "conduct contrary to the spirit of the game" but Warner escaped punishment.

However, separate charges by CA led to Smith and Warner being handed year-long bans, while Bancroft was given nine months.

The ACA insists there has been "a number of glaring and clear anomalies in the process", and last week pointed to what it said was a "rush to place players before the world's media last Saturday night without the benefit of considered and coherent advice".

Dyer fronted a media conference in Sydney on Tuesday, and said he had been dumbfounded that Smith and Bancroft had been allowed to go public after day three in Newlands.

"I swore, which my wife chided me about. It was a terrible moment for Australian sport. It was a shocking moment, let's be clear about that," he said.

Dyer then repeated his call that the suspensions had been too harsh, and the players at least needed to be able to resume in the Sheffield Shield this summer.

Warner, Smith and Bancroft, who have enlisted legal help, are weighing up whether to appeal the charges and suspensions, which were handed down within days after CA integrity chief Iain Roy began his investigation.

Warner and wife Candice flew into Melbourne on Tuesday to meet with their advisors.

"I'm just down in Melbourne today to meet with my advisors. There's a lot of information to be considered at the moment and I haven't made my decision yet," Warner told Channel Seven.

The players have been given seven days to lodge an appeal, meaning until Thursday 5pm, although their camps insist they have until next Wednesday. A tentative hearing date of April 11 has been set.