Former captain Michael Clarke urged a furious sporting public today to forgive Steve Smith over the cheating scandal that has plunged Australian cricket into crisis.
He said Australia needed to move on from the anger over Smith's ball-tampering plot in the third Test against South Africa and work on restoring the sport's battered reputation.
But Clarke acknowledged many fans would struggle to find sympathy for Smith over his role in a plan to have batsman Cameron Bancroft change the condition of the ball by illegally rubbing it with sticky yellow paper.
"I do feel for Steve Smith. 100 percent he has made a major mistake and he and a lot of other people I think are going to have to suffer the consequences," Clarke told Channel Seven.
"That's fair enough. But I think it's important that we do over time forgive as well."
"We have so much work to do to get cricket back to where it belongs."
- 'High and mighty hypocrites' -
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"If the condition of the ball is changed, you get a five-run penalty and change the ball. That hardly sends the message that this is a heinous crime."