Former Australian captain Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for 12 months while Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine month for their role in the ball-tampering scandal, during the third Test against South Africa that left Australian cricket in crisis. However, on Tuesday, Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) president Greg Dyer, arguing the punishment was "disproportionate", has called for the bans on the trio to be reduced. Smith and Warner were also stood down from their position of captain and vice-captain of the Australian cricket team and while Smith can still have a leadership role in the future, Warner has been banned from ever doing so

A wave of sympathy for Smith, in particular, has been gathering pace since a heart-wrenching public apology on Thursday, in which he broke down in tears. With the 2019 World Cup and an Ashes series in 2019, supporters of the players believe they need to be playing state cricket to be in the type of form that could warrant selection.

All three players have apologised and accepted responsibility in emotional press conferences after being kicked off the tour and returning home last week. Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) president Greg Dyer said "justice which is rushed can sometimes be very flawed", referring to Cricket Australia (CA) handing out its punishment so soon after the incident. He urged a relaxation of the bans to allow the men to return to domestic action sooner, saying of the dozen or so previous cases the ACA had studied, the most severe punishment was a ban for two one-day internationals.