Published: Dec 20, 2018, 09:22 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 20, 2018, 09:22 PM (IST)
Disgraced former Australian captain Steve Smith is set to hold a press conference in Sydney on Friday, the first time he will face the media after tearful apology in March following the sandpaper scandal.
Smith who is serving a one-year ban for ball-tampering earlier this year against South Africa, will face the media at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as per a report in The Sydney Morning Herald.
The 29-year-old is also set train with Big Bash League’s Sydney Sixers, whom he captained to the title in the competition’s inaugural season in 2011/12, the reported further added.
The news fuels speculations that that the announcement may be regarding his ban which could be overturned and he may be available for selection for the last two Tests against India.
However, SMH in its report rubbished any such speculations. Smith and wife Dani will be spending Christmas and the New Year in New York, the report said.
The news comes days after Smith was featured in a TV ad for Vodafone that has the cricketer talking about coping with the after effects of admitting to the ball-tampering scandal.
Smith, whose ban ends in March next year, says in the ad that after what unfolded at Cape Town, he was in a pretty dark space with things falling around him.
“Everything I dreamed of, everything I was a part of was just falling to pieces,” Smith says. “I was in a pretty dark space. It was just about being upfront and honest and taking responsibility. I’ve certainly had some difficult days.”
Smith though goes on to say that he will be back better than ever.
The ad titled ‘Gutsy is Calling’ aired a day after Australia won their first Test after the sandpaper scandal, beating India at Perth under Tim Paine.
Smith last week led his club Sutherland to the New South Wales Premier T20 championship in his return to the Sydney Cricket Ground. His ban ends on March 29, 2019.
