Australia coach, captain face axe as CA holds crisis talks

JOHANNESBURG, Mar 27 (AFP): Australia coach Darren Lehmann and skipper Steve Smith faced the axe Tuesday with cricket chiefs holding crisis talks in South Africa to deal with an escalating cheating scandal.

Cricket Australia (CA) boss James Sutherland, under mounting pressure to come down hard on what Australian media has dubbed a "rotten" team culture, has arrived in Johannesburg and is expected to give a press conference later Tuesday.

Sutherland is holding talks with Cricket Australia's head of integrity, Iain Roy, who is probing the ball-tampering scandal during the third Test match against South Africa on Saturday.

Reports say they could ban both Smith and vice-captain David Warner for 12 months and send them home in disgrace.

Smith has already been suspended for one Test and docked his entire match fee by the International Cricket Council for his role in a plot that saw teammate Cameron Bancroft use a piece of grit-encrusted sticky tape to change the condition of the ball.

It means Smith will miss the fourth and final Test in Johannesburg starting Friday.

Lehmann has remained silent, but Britain's Daily Telegraph said he had decided to quit.

Lehmann took over the coaching reins in 2013 when predecessor Mickey Arthur was sacked, with Justin Langer considered a frontrunner as his replacement although Ricky Ponting will also be in the mix.