Suspended Aussie cricketer Steve Smith becomes world #1 Test batsman -

Steve Smith has been suspended since the ball-tampering saga in March, so how did he make it to be the highest ranked Test batsman in the world?

Take a look at what Smith has been up to since the scandal, and how no one has been able to keep the #1 spot ahead of him.

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Scandal - The Australian cricket team's captain was suspended in March after the controversial ball-tampering scandal.

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Cameron Bancroft - During the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town earlier this year, Australia's two top cricketers conspired to get junior player Cameron Bancroft to tamper with the ball.

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Tamper - Bancroft used sandpaper to scuff the ball and hid the evidence when umpires were suspicious.

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Suspended - Smith and vice-captain David Warner were both suspended for 12 months from domestic and international cricket for the incident.

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Captain - Smith had to leave his captaincy behind during his suspension, but with the opportunity to return to his leadership role after time served. 

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Volunteer - Warner also received 12 months, and Bancroft received nine months. All including 100 hours of voluntary service for the Australian cricket community.

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Sponsors - The three cricketers also lost all their sponsorship deals.

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Spirit - The ball-tampering was an obvious and premeditated attempt to cheat, and not at all in the spirit of the game.

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Ashes -

As Test captain, he led the team to victory in the 2017/2018 Ashes Series 4-0.

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Suspicious - But after the ball-tampering allegations, there has been some suspicion as to whether it was fair game or not.

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Danielle Willis - Smith's fiance Danielle Willis was by his side when they attended The Allen Border Medal in 2018.

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Announced - In February, the captain of Australian cricket team was awarded the Allan Border Medal, the nation's foremost individual cricket honour.

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Not the first - Earlier this year, before the Test match against South Africa, Smith received the Allan Border Medal for the second time.

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Test Player - For his previous 12 months of incredible form, Smith was also awarded Test Player of the Year.

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Number one - So how did the suspended Allan Border Medal-winning, Ashes Series champion, ex-captain of the Australian cricket team continue to be ranked at number one in the world for Test batsmen when he wasn't even playing?

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ICC - ICC has Smith sitting atop their world ranking for best Test batsmen.

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Past - Smith was an impeccable player ever since his Test match debut in 2011, even throughout injuries and recovery.

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Batsman - The batsman became captain in 2015, taking over from Michael Clarke.

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Top - He has consistently kept his high ranking in the ICC Test batsman since 2015.

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Don Bradman - Smith reached a Test batting rating of 947 on December 30, 2017. That was the second-highest rating of all time behind Don Bradman at 961.

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Virat Kholi - Indian cricketer Virat Kholi took top place for a short period following Smiths suspension.

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Ranked first - He gained on Smith after scoring 200 runs during the first Test against England.

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Loss - He remained at the top briefly before their colossal loss in the second Test.

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Keep up - However, even though Smith was out of play, Kholi couldn't keep up with his average.

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How it works - Smith's suspension was dished up by Cricket Australia, not the global governing body, and also the rankings are based on 'sophisticated moving average'.

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Period - That means being suspended won't damage Smith's average rating unless he doesn't play within the ranking period, which can last up to 15 months, outside the time he was suspended for.

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Number five - Fellow suspended cricketer, David Warner is currently ranked at number five in the ICC Test batsman world's best.

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Former - The former vice-captain has had an exquisite average behind his former captain, and that is keeping him amongst the ICC best.

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Can't lose - If it's still not quite clear how these suspended cricketers can still rank in the top ten Test batsmen in the world, this might clear things up: if you don't play, you can't lose.

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