The tearful timeline of an extraordinary day

Yesterday will go down as one of the most extraordinary and emotional days in Australian cricket.

Off the back of the Cape Town ball-tampering incident that sent shock waves through the cricket world, the three players at the heart of the saga spoke for the first time upon returning home from South Africa.

Their emotional words played a part in Australia's head coach walking away from his post.

Below is how the fateful Thursday played out. 

3:39pm AEDT | Warner breaks his silence

Having been discovered as the instigator of the plan to scuff up the ball with sandpaper, David Warner sent out a tweet apologising for his part in the incident, taking responsibility for his actions and that he will "take a deep breath" before making further comment in a few days.

6:40pm AEDT | 3:40pm WST | Bancroft faces the music

Cameron Bancroft fronted the media at the WACA Ground and admitted he "lied and panicked" about calling the sandpaper he used to alter the condition of the ball 'sticky tape' after day three at Newlands. He was remorseful and asked for forgiveness, saying what broke his heart the most was how he gave up his spot in the Test XI for free. He said it was a long road back but pledged his journey started once he set foot out of the WACA doors. 

7:44pm AEDT | Smith breaks down in Sydney

An hour after Bancroft addressed the press it was Steve Smith's turn at Sydney's Kingsford Smith International Airport. With his father Peter standing behind him in support, Smith apologised, took full responsibility for the Australian team's actions and hoped he could be a force for change. He said he will regret the actions at Newlands for the rest his life and that in time he hoped to earn back respect and forgiveness. As the press conference concluded, Smith couldn't stay composed when he spoke about what his parents have gone through, and reiterated just how sorry and devastated he was about the incident that has seen him banned for 12 months and been stripped of the captaincy. 

9:03pm AEDT | Enough is enough

International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson released a strongly-worded statement promising a wide-ranging review into how the governing body punished poor player behavior following the ball-tampering scandal. Richardson called the current cricket climate as "one of the worst periods in recent memory". The spirit of cricket must be protected, said Richardson. 

9:30pm AEDT | 12:30pm SAF | Faf feels for Smith

Proteas captain Faf du Plessis attended the customary pre-match press conference at The Wanderers and expressed his sympathy for Smith. Du Plessis revealed he'd sent Smith a text and believed he was "one of the good guys". But du Plessis also said he was suspicious prior to the Cape Town Test as to how the Australians got the ball to go reverse so early in the field. 

10:59pm AEDT | 1:59pm SAF | Lehmann stands down

Less than 24 hours after confirming he was not resigning, Darren Lehmann shocked the world by announcing the fourth Test in Johannesburg would be his last as head coach of the Australian cricket team. Lehmann said it was watching the emotional press conferences of Smith and Bancroft that made him realise now was the right time to go. The coach had tears in his eyes for the duration of the announcement, but welled up when thanking his wife Andrea and his four children for their support, and when he revealed the way his side handled the tragic death of Phillip Hughes as his proudest moment in charge. 

12:00am AEDT | Warner arrives home

A hungry press pack greeted Warner, his wife Candice and their two children as they touched down at Sydney Airport. Warner passed on a quick message to say that the public will hear from him in a few days, but at that time the priority was to get his two daughters to bed. 

12:50am AEDT | 3:50pm SAF | Sutherland pays tribute to 'Boof'

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland paid tribute to Lehmann in front of reporters and television cameras outside the team hotel in the Sandton district in the wake of the head coach stepping down. He confirmed he would not be resigning and that the past week had strengthened his resolve to steer Australian cricket back on track. Sutherland passed on his sympathy to the banned players and made it known CA will offer full welfare surfaces to the best of its ability to those players and their families.

Qantas tour of South Africa

South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, AB de Villiers.

Australia squad: Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.

Warm-up match: Australia beat South Africa A by five wickets. Report, highlights

First Test Australia won by 118 runs. Scorecard

Second Test South Africa won by six wickets. Scorecard

Third Test South Africa won by 322 runs. Scorecard

Fourth Test Wanderers, Johannesburg, March 30-April 3. Live coverage