Cricket Australia has released its findings following an independent review into the culture of the game triggered by the ball-tampering saga in South Africa earlier this year.
The incident saw Steve Smith and David Warner given 12-month bans while Cameron Bancroft was handed a nine-month sanction for their involvement in the fiasco.
The review conducted by Dr Simon Longstaff and former Test batman Rick McCosker found the governing body to be “arrogant” and “controlling” in a damning indictment of the leadership of the recently departed CEO James Sutherland.
The review contains 42 recommendations to fix the game of cricket in Australia with the overarching goal of upholding certain ethical standards and to improve the reputation of the game.
In a bid to win back the public’s trust, Cricket Australia has released a ‘Players' Pact’ which will be adhered to by all contracted players within Australian cricket, emphasising the manner in which the game should be played.
Cricket Australia Chairman David Peever said of the review:
"At Cricket Australia our purpose is to unite and inspire communities through cricket.
"There’s no doubt that the ball-tampering incident in South Africa was extremely regrettable and caused distress across our country.
"It has been a difficult and confronting time for everyone involved in Australian Cricket, and for that I am sorry. Mistakes have been made, lessons have been learnt, and changes are and will continue to take place.
"Our response to the ball tampering incident was necessarily tough, and we acted swiftly and decisively. At the same time, we voluntarily commissioned an independent organisational review into Australian cricket and launched, concurrently, a player review to establish a renewed behavioural charter.
"To help restore faith in what we do, today CA is releasing the review in full and publishing the players’ pact."
(Continued): "Our love of cricket is in our blood. That’s why today is an important step to continue to move cricket forward. We’ll continue to work with, and listen to employees, fans, players, partners and volunteers, to ensure we all shape Australian Cricket in a way that everyone can be proud of – with a unity of purpose like never before.
"We can't change the past, but we can mould the future of cricket in this country and ensure cricket remains Australia’s favourite sport, and a sport for all Australians."