Steve Smith spoke to the media in Sydney on Friday, the first time the former Australia captain has appeared behind a microphone since his one-year ban for ball tampering was imposed.

Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were banned from all first class cricket following the incident against South Africa at Newlands earlier this year.

Smith, who is allowed to return to cricket after March 2019, said it wasn't easy to cope with the ban in the early days, but a close group of people around him has helped him pull through.