Steve Smith has detailed the moment he walked away when told of a premeditated plan to cheat in Cape Town, a "leadership failure" the sacked skipper will regret for the rest of his life.
Smith immediately took ownership of his error in March, a message delivered to tearful teammates in a Johannesburg hotel then relayed to the Australian public during a tearful press conference at Sydney airport.
But the suspended superstar was in no state to give a rundown of the who, what, where, when and why some nine months ago, when he repeatedly broke down while being comforted by his father.
Much of the sordid sandpaper detail emerged in a formal investigation from Cricket Australia (CA) that painted David Warner as the chief architect and corrupter of Cameron Bancroft, unofficial accounts, and a wide-ranging independent report that was scathing in its assessment of CA and the team's culture.
Some questions about the nitty-gritty remain unanswered but Smith, speaking to reporters at the SCG on Friday, vividly recalled exactly what he said upon discovering the ball-tampering plot in the Newlands' rooms.
"I don't want to know about it," Smith said.
And walked away.
"I walked past something and had the opportunity to stop it and I didn't do it. That was my leadership failure.
"That was my chance where I could have stopped something from happening. That's what I've learnt over the last nine months, every decision you make can have a negative impact if things go pear-shaped."
Smith added he didn't think about challenging CA's heavy punishment "because I just wanted to accept it and take responsibility".
"And knowing I'd made a mistake," he said.
"Now it's about learning, making the right decisions more often than not."
South Africa harboured doubts about whether Australia were doing anything illegal to achieve reverse-swing throughout the series.
CA's investigation, conducted by team-performance chief Pat Howard and integrity boss Iain Roy - who are both no longer at the governing body, found it was a one-off case of tampering.
"As far as I'm concerned and aware of, that was the first time it had happened," Smith said.
Smith's relationship with Warner was understandably damaged by the saga but the former captain insisted on Friday that "Dave and I are fine."
Warner expressed similar sentiments last month, laughing off talk of a frosty feud.
"It's good comedy for us, we enjoy it. We're catching up with each other and texting each other," Warner said.
National coach Justin Langer recently admitted Smith and Warner's returns would need to be a carefully managed "process" and that Australian cricket resembled a "dysfunctional family" after weeks of infighting and bloodletting.
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