Sydney:  Following the Ball-tampering row, Darren Lehmann is to step down as coach of Australia before the fourth Test against South Africa which scheduled to begin on Friday, according to a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.

As the fall-out from the ball-tampering scandal continued as Australia was plunged into turmoil after captain Steve Smith confessed on Saturday that senior players conspired with opening batsman Cameron Bancroft to tamper with the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

Smith has been fined and suspended from the fourth Test by the International Cricket Council and he and David Warner have been stood down from their positions as captain and vice-captain respectively .However, Cricket Australia investigation is underway.

The national governing body expects to declare the results of the inquiry in Johannesburg late on Tuesday.Although Smith said the coaching staff had been not aware of the Ball-tampering-conspiracy; Lehmann still had questions to answer.

The Daily Telegraph cited sources as saying Australian Coach Lehmann, who has made no public comment since the incident has happened, planned to pre-empt the inquiry by stepping down more than a year further left of his planned exit after the 2019 Ashes series.

Smith's predecessor skipper, Michael Clarke, thought that Lehmann was damned equally whether he had known about the plan to swindle, or if he had not.

"If that's the case, then the Australian head coach hasn't got control of this Australian team," Clarke said on the Nine Network.

 He added,  "And if he does know about it, then he's as accountable as anybody else."