Former Australia captain Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft will not challenge their bans from international and domestic cricket, and their 12-month ban from leadership positions thereafter, imposed by Cricket Australia for their role in the ball-tampering incident in the Cape Town Test against South Africa.

"I would give anything to have this behind me and be back representing my country," Smith said on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. "But I meant what I said about taking full responsibility as captain of the team. I won't be challenging the sanctions. They've been imposed by CA to send a strong message and I have accepted them."

Smith's acceptance of his 12-month ban means that he will be able to return to top-flight cricket only around April 2019, about two months before the World Cup is due to begin in England.

Shortly after Smith's tweet, Bancroft followed suit, saying he too had accepted his nine-month ban. "Today I lodged the paperwork with Cricket Australia and will be accepting the sanction handed down," he said on Twitter. "I would love to put this behind me and will do whatever it takes to earn back the trust of the Australian public. Thank you to all those who have sent messages of support.

The other banned player David Warner and has not yet announced whether he too would accept his sanction, or take the matter to a hearing. Warner was banned from international and domestic cricket for 12 months and also banned from holding leadership positions in Australian cricket for life.

A day before Smith and Bancroft said they would not be challenging the sanctions, the Australian Cricketers' Association had said the punishments were "disproportionate" to the gravity of the offence - ball-tampering - and appealed to CA to reduce them.