Steve Smith’s moving message to young fan, as Warner defends his speech

The disgraced cricket stars have both released emotional apologies. Source: Getty and Channel 9.

Steve Smith has issued a second heartfelt apology, this time directly to a young fan who was left devastated by the news he’d been caught in a ball tampering scandal.

And just hours after breaking down in a press conference, his former teammate David Warner has defended his speech – insisting all “unanswered questions” will be addressed at the “right time”.

The scandal was exposed when player Cameron Bancroft was caught last Saturday in South Africa attempting to alter the condition of the cricket ball by rubbing one side of it with sandpaper he had hidden in his trousers. An investigation by Cricket Australia found that just three people – Bancroft, former captain Smith and vice-captain Warner – knew of the plan, and that Warner had been the driving force behind it.

Smith held an emotional press conference earlier on Thursday night, at which he tearfully apologised to the nation and to his family, saying that his mother and father were devastated by his actions and the furore they had caused. Smith later had support from his father Peter.

Now, he has reached out to the nine-year-old son of TV star Deb Knight, after she revealed she had to “console him” after he watched Smith’s tearful speech.

Read more: Steve Smith sobbing: ‘I’ll regret this for the rest of my life’

“Just spent 20 minutes consoling my crying 9 year old who is a major Steve Smith fan after he watched the press conference. Encouraging him and all kids to write Steve a letter telling him how much you love and admire him,” she wrote on Twitter.

Speaking on 2GB radio shortly after, she said he had reached out to her, asking her to apologise to her son on his behalf.

“I’m sorry that I made him upset also,” he apparently wrote.

Meanwhile, Warner also burst into tears on camera on Saturday as he made a heartfelt apology for his part in the scandal.

The former vice captain, 31, admitted he has resigned himself to the fact he may never be able to play cricket for his country again, before issuing an emotional apology to his wife and children in Sydney.

Following the lengthy speech, he dodged a question from a journalist asking who was responsible, and took to Twitter shortly after to explain why.

“I know there are unanswered questions and lots of them. I completely understand. In time i will do my best to answer them all. But there is a formal CA process to follow,” he wrote.

Read more: David Warner breaks down in tearful apology over cricket ball tampering

“I am taking advice to make sure I properly comply with that process and answer all questions in the proper place and at the proper time. I should have mentioned that in my press conference I’m sorry for not making it clearer. With so much at stake for my family and cricket I have to follow this process properly. I think that’s fair.”

So far, the cricketing body has sent home all three from South Africa in disgrace and handed Smith and Warner 12-month bans from international cricket. Bancroft was given a nine-month ban. And on Thursday night, Australian test team coach Darren Lehmann said he would step down at the end of the fourth test against South Africa to allow the team to move forward from the scandal, although he reiterated that, as Cricket Australia’s probe found, he knew nothing of the plan to tamper with the ball.

Read more: Tearful cricket coach Darren Lehmann quits to save his family from abuse

The players’ actions breached article 2.3.5 of Cricket Australia’s code of conduct because they were contrary to the spirit of the game and brought the game into disrepute, but Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland declined to categorise the ball-tampering as cheating when pressed on the matter on Wednesday.

Ball tampering reportedly isn’t uncommon at all levels of competitive cricket – roughing-up one side of the ball or making the other more slick are ways of making it ‘swing’ in the air when bowled and thus harder for the opposing side to bat against. South Africa’s current test cricket captain, for example, has twice been charged with ball tampering, on one occasion for rubbing it against the zip of his trousers and on another for shining it with a mint.

But Australia’s pride in being a ‘clean’ and sportsmanlike nation has meant that the trio’s behaviour has captured world headlines, with even publications such as The Economist taking an interest in the scandal.

Do you think both cricketers should answer all questions now?