England icon Andrew Flintoff has branded the ball-tampering saga an embarrassment to Australian cricket and claimed they have cheated for years.

It comes after captain Steve Smith admitted to premeditated ball tampering and implicated a 'leadership group' which is believed to involve vice-captain David Warner.

Smith has been banned for the final Test against South Africa while Cameron Bancroft, the man at the centre of the scandal, was hit was three demerit points and both were fined.

Former England cricket captain Andrew Flintoff has claimed Australa have cheated for years

It comes after Cameron Bancroft found himself at the centre of ball-tampering allegations

The opening batsman was seen running his hand over the ball, before removing a yellow object from his pocket and placing it down the front of his trousers

And the former England captain believes Australia have always attempted to paint themselves as a squeaky-clean outfit, but said they are only sorry this time because they have been caught in the act.

'Australia attempted a lot of times to be "poor us, we're fine, we don't cross the mark",' said Flintoff on BBC 5 live. 'But you do lads to be honest, you've done it for years and years and years and now you're getting found out.'

The ex-all rounder then hit out at Bancroft, the man in the centre of the scandal after he was caught on camera rubbing a foreign object on the ball in an attempt to alter its condition.

'I think it's very thick, it's embarrassing for the people involved. I think the debate is to what extent are you cheating.

'You've heard all sorts of stories about ball tampering, all these things have gone on over time and now is the time to draw a line. What we've seen is cheating, there's no two ways about it.

'It's not a subtlety of [using] sun cream or sucking on a mint. Sometimes when it comes to sport, and it comes to cricket, the moral compass has been a little bit skewed. What they think is acceptable and right, I'm not quite sure at times.'

Steve Smith and David Warner are also huge players in the ball-tampering episode

Flintoff believes the whole incident is an embarrassment to Australian cricket

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland landed in South Africa on Tuesday morning

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland landed in South Africa on Tuesday morning and will hear the outcome of a probe into the incident from team performance head Pat Howard and integrity chief Iain Roy after the pair spent Monday in Cape Town interviewing the players.

And, ultimately, Flintoff sees this whole episode as a huge mess and an embarrassment to Australian cricket.

He said: 'The Australians have always been: "Oh, we'll dish it out, but then people come back at us and we'll whinge."

'Australians think they're the best. They think that they're strongest, they think they're the best cricket team in the world. And to think: "Actually, we've had to cheat to beat South Africa, who aren't that good." That is a massive kick in the nuts.'

Flintoff believes Australia's attempt to portray a squeaky-clean image has caught up with them