Will ICC take strong action against Australia?

'The statement from them said it was the 'leadership group' and therefore it was quite a few people involved so we'll see how the ICC deals with the situation'

The International Cricket Council's response to the Australian ball tampering incident in the third test at Newlands is firmly under the spotlight with strong punishment expected for the culprits, South Africa coach Ottis Gibson said on Sunday.

"I'm shocked at what's gone on. I've never seen anything as blatant as that," he told SuperSport television.

"The statement from them said it was the 'leadership group' and therefore it was quite a few people involved so we'll see how the ICC deals with the situation."

Gibson said he expected cricket's governing body to take decisive action following the latest incident of a spiteful series that has witnessed plenty of controversial behaviour between players from both teams.

"From the beginning of the series with all of the stuff that has gone on, I've kept saying we need strong officials in a series like this with two tough teams going after each other," he added.

"Hopefully, the match officials will take strong action in this situation."

Australia captain Steve Smith admitted on Saturday his side deliberately tried to tamper with the condition of the ball in an orchestrated attempt to gain an advantage of a Test that was slipping away from them.

He and senior players conspired to change the condition of the ball using sticky tape and grit from the pitch with Australia's opening batsman Cameron Bancroft caught on camera using the tape.

The ICC charged Bancroft, the most junior member in the side at 25, of trying to change the condition of the ball. The governing body could dish out a one-match ban and a 100 percent match fee fine to the batsman.

On Sunday, Smith and vice captain David Warner stood down from their roles for the remainder of the third test with Tim Paine taking over as a stand-in skipper.

Former South Africa captain Kepler Wessels said the ICC need to be consistent in their punishment and brought up the case of West Indies wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs, banned for three matches by the ICC for 'cheating' in 2001 when he stumped an Indian batsmen without a ball in his glove as he broke the wicket.

"If Jacobs got three games for that offence then I wonder what is going to happen to these Australians," Wessels asked on Sunday.

Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, commentating on television, said he was aghast that the ball had not been changed immediately when the tampering pictures were shown on television, adding that the umpires had been remiss.

Relations with Australia unaffected by scandal – Moosajee

South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee does not expect relations between the country's board and their Australian counterparts to be unduly affected by the ball-tampering scandal engulfing the third test at Newlands.

He added the South African team was focused on applying "relentless pressure" on the Australian side in order to win the Test and take a 2-1 lead in the tempestuous four-match series.

Australia captain Steve Smith, who has since relinquished the role for the remainder of the match, admitted that the team's leadership group had hatched a plan on Saturday to alter the condition of the ball in what has developed into one of the biggest scandals in Australian sporting history.

"I don't think it will hurt the relations between the two boards," Moosajee told reporters on Sunday.

"The process is now in the hands of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The fact that Australia have admitted to what they have done... there is no place for that in cricket at all. They will go through an internal process as well."

"We leave it to the ICC to make the call on what the next steps are and what the sanction will be."

Moosajee added that the South African team remained focused on winning the game.

"(Coach) Ottis Gibson addressed the boys this morning and the focus is very much about applying relentless pressure. From a mental space point of view, the team are certainly in a good one."

"The most important thing for us is to focus on the job at hand and win the test match."

Moosajee was not surprised that Smith came clean at a news conference on Saturday, believing he had no choice after television pictures showed fielder Cameron Bancroft trying to hide sticky tape he used to pick up grit to rub on the ball.

"When the evidence is as damning as it was, it is sometimes better just to plea and come clean. That is probably what they were thinking," he added.

"There are so many cameras these days, if people are trying to do something untoward it is only a matter of time before they will be exposed."

But Moosajee did take issue with the fact that umpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth had not changed the ball after compelling evidence of tampering had been revealed.

"From my understanding of the rules, if there was evidence (of ball tampering) like there was for everyone to see, then they should have changed the ball and a five-run penalty awarded."