Tampering trio have right to appeal bans

The ball-tampering saga could drag on for more than a month yet, with the three players sent home by Cricket Australia able to appeal their respective punishments.

Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were hit with Level 3 breaches of the CA Code of Conduct, and now have until April 5 to lodge an appeal to CA General Counsel & Company Secretary, Christine Harman.

It is understood all three players have sought legal counsel since being charged, but it remains to be seen if they will appeal their sanctions.

Smith and Warner copped 12-month bans for their involvement in the plan to artificially alter the condition of the ball on day three of the third Test at Newlands, while Bancroft was hit with a nine-month ban.

Smith is also ineligible to hold a leadership role in the Australian team for at least 24 months, while Warner will not be considered for any leadership position for the rest of his career.

All three players have left South Africa and will arrive at their home ports on Thursday afternoon, with Smith (Sydney) and Bancroft (Perth) set to address the media upon arrival.

Should any of the trio appeal, CA would have five days to appoint an Appeals Commissioner, who will then have 30 days to hold a hearing and make a decision that shall be the "full, final and complete disposition of the matter and will be binding on all parties," according to the code.

It is anticipated that any appeal hearing would be held on April 11.

All players involved in the incident – particularly Smith and Warner – are set to be hit hard in the wallet during their 12-month suspension.

While their current CA contracts will not be impacted by the ban, none of the trio will not be offered new contracts for the 2018-19 season, which could have been worth significantly more than $1 million per year for the former captain and vice-captain.

Smith and Warner have also had their lucrative Indian Premier League contracts – each worth A$2.4 million per year – torn up by the Board of Control of Cricket in India off the back of the suspensions.

The trio have also lost personal corporate sponsorships in recent days, while CA had its first commercial casualty with home Test naming rights partner Magellan terminating its agreement.

CA chief executive James Sutherland said the sanctions handed down by the CA Board were not made with the possibility of an appeal in mind, only what was best for the spirit of cricket.

"All we can do is uphold the code to our best judgment and take into considerations the evidence we have," Sutherland said.

"It's about the spirit of cricket, it's about the good of the game.

"It's not about individuals or thinking about those sorts of consequences.

"We've got to make those judgments on what's best for the game and quite rightly, as a course of natural justice under our code, players have the right to accept or reject the charges or the sanctions or both, and if they do to take that to appeal.

"That's a good, proper legal process and that's why it's written that way."

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