Steve Smith 'didn't want to know' about cheating plot

Steve Smith admits he had a chance to stop the ball-tampering fiasco from eventuating and failed to act, after addressing media for the first time in eight months.

The banned former Australia captain elaborated on his role in the cheating scandal during his first press conference since breaking down in March.

Smith was speaking at the SCG prior to the Sydney Sixers’ training session on Friday.

Smith was calm and composed in a complete contrast to the tearful press conference he gave at Sydney airport earlier in the year.

The banned former skipper suggested he knew about the ‘Sandpapergate’ plot that saw himself, Cameron Bancroft and David Warner handed hefty bans.

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Smith said he “didn’t want to know about it and walked away” after admitting he had a chance to stop the ball-tampering fiasco from eventuating.

“I walked passed and saw it and said, ‘I don’t want to know about it,”‘ Smith recalled.

“That was my chance where I could have stopped something from happening and that is something I have learned over the last nine months.

“Every decision you make can have a negative outlook if things go pear-shaped and if things go well how does that look.

“Now it is about learning and almost slowing your thinking down and ensuring you make the right decisions.”

Australia’s former skipper has made few public appearances while serving a 12-month ban for his role in the Cape Town cheating scandal.

However, he denies knowing about previous examples of this happening in other teams he’s been involved with.

“As far as I am aware this is the first time and I can’t really judge what other teams around the world have done,” Smith said.

“In any game you play you want the ball to try and move, but obviously you want to do it in a legal way.”

However, Smith’s battle for redemption returned to the headlines after a Vodafone campaign he is spearheading was launched during Wednesday night’s Big Bash League season opener.

“I was in a pretty dark space … I’ve certainly had some difficult days,” Smith says in the advertisement.

“But it’s OK to be vulnerable. Everyone makes mistakes.

“It’s about the way you respond to it that’s really important. I want to come back better than I was.”

Smith banned from playing T20 comp

Steve Smith has been barred from the Bangladesh Premier League in the latest blow for the banned Aussie cricketer.

Bangladesh’s Cricket Board said on Thursday it has barred Smith from the forthcoming Twenty20 tournament following an objection raised by some franchises.

Smith, serving a one-year ban from international cricket and Australia’s domestic Sheffield Shield and Big Bash League, had signed for Comilla Victorians to play in the next edition of the BPL starting on January 5.

He was expected to join the team in mid-January for the second phase of the BPL as a replacement for Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

“The rule of the tournament is that if a franchise takes a replacement, his name should be in the list of initial players’ draft. But Smith’s name was not there, ” said Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Nizamuddin Chowdhury.

With AAP