Live cricket updates: Australia v South Africa

After a day of drama, how will Australia respond on the field against South Africa on day four of the third test?

Steve Smith and David Warner have stood down as leaders for the rest of the third Test over the ball-tampering bombshell, with Tim Paine now leading Australia in Cape Town.

Smith confessed overnight that Australia's leadership group authorised premeditated cheating at Newlands, wanting to use sticky tape in an illegal attempt to change the condition of the ball.

Follow live updates as South Africa look to increase Australia's misery on day four.

"This Test match needs to proceed, and in the interim we will continue to investigate this matter with the urgency that it demands," CA chief executive James Sutherland said.

Smith travelled to the ground on the team bus on Sunday then sequestered himself from the team.

Smith's 10 ashen-faced teammates all went through their standard pre-play routines on the morning of day four but their leader was nowhere to be seen.

The gifted batsman is likely to be charged by the International Cricket Council but the prospect of more stern punishments loom large.

"I won't be considering stepping down. I still think I'm the right person for the job," Smith told reporters after day three.

The ugly episode has prompted an outpouring of shock and condemnation, with the Australian Sports Commission leading calls for Smith and "any other members of the team leadership group or coaching staff who had prior awareness" to be stood down.