THE pre-planned cheating orchestrated by Australia has shocked the sporting world.

On Saturday, the Australian cricket team was found to have tampered with the ball using sandpaper with Cameron Bancroft picked up by the cameras.

Captain Steven Smith admitted that the senior leadership group had discussed the idea.

What was quite incredible to most people is the amount of planning that had gone into this. It was not something that was thought of by one person as is normally the case when somebody is found guilty of ball tampering.

The team claim that it is the first time that it has happened, but whether it was or was not that was always likely to be the response.

Whether it had happened previously, only the Australia team would know. There have been plenty of allegations about certain players including David Warner, but these remain unproved.

The punishment is a difficult one to decide on.

I would like anyone involved to get a severe ban, but I also don't want to see two of the best players of their generation banned for life in Warner and Smith, it would be a shame for cricket.

I certainly would not like to see either of them captain a side again though.

I think a time period of six months to a year of no international cricket would be a fair punishment to those involved.

I think that Smith refusing to say who was involved even now is poor. Every person who was involved in the decision should be held accountable.

As I said before, the sheer planning of this makes it more serious than the average case, but the punishment has never fit the crime to me.

Players only get a one match ban for ball tampering, which is far too lenient.

I think a three or four game ban as standard would be fair.

This is cricket's Bloodgate scandal, in the fact that it was not so many people knew about it. The reaction of coach Darren Lehmann suggests he may not yet be as innocent as is being made out.

Even if he didn't know, I cannot see him staying on.