Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi, who has a history of clashes with new prime minister and former national captain Imran Khan, resigned from his post on Monday and was swiftly replaced.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Thursday the national cricket team was a source of pride to the war-ravaged country as it took on India in a historic first test match and he urged other cricketing nations to take on the team.

A cheating scandal that has ripped through the core of Australia's most venerated pastime, cricket, prompted church leaders to provide guidance over the Easter weekend on how to emerge from the moral tailspin.

Australia coach Darren Lehmann said on Thursday he would step down after this week's test match against South Africa, as he took ultimate responsibility for the culture of a team embroiled in a ball-tampering scandal that has rocked the sport.

The Australian cricket team lost a major sponsor and a host of large companies tore up branding deals with individual players on Thursday as the fallout of a ball-tampering scandal tore into the financial core of the country's favorite pastime.

Magellan Financial Group said on Thursday it had terminated a partnership with Cricket Australia as the naming rights sponsor of Australia's men's domestic Test series, citing a recent ball-tampering scandal.

Sacked Australia captain Steve Smith and David Warner have both been banned for 12 months for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town, Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Wednesday, after uncovering a web of lies told by the players after they were caught.

Australian cricket supremo James Sutherland had harsh words on Tuesday for the test trio being sent home after the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town, saying they faced "significant" sanctions, but there was one term he refused to use - 'cheat'.

A ban for captain Steve Smith in no way eased the fury directed at the leadership of the Australia cricket team as the sports-mad nation returned to work on Monday still digesting the ball-tampering scandal which broke in Cape Town over the weekend.

Australia's major cricket sponsors, including Qantas Airways, breakfast cereal maker Sanitarium and brewer Lion, said on Monday they were assessing their relationship with the country's favorite pastime as the fallout from a ball-tampering scandal escalates.