Smith will miss the remaining three one-day fixtures and two T20s, with vice-captain David Warner to take the reins for the first time.

The New South Welshman plays in all three formats of the game and has been ordered to return home to allow him time to prepare for the upcoming five-match one-day series in South Africa starting with a one-off match against Ireland on September 27 in Benoni.

“I hate missing cricket, but in the long run it will do me a world of good,” Smith said following his side’s 82-run loss on Wednesday that saw the hosts level the series at 1-1.
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“The schedule is very busy. I still want to take on the role in all three formats and do it to the best of my ability.”

Smith has skippered the side for the last 24 ODIs having replaced Michael Clarke in the role following the Cricket World Cup triumph last year and Warner will become only the 23rd man to lead the Australia team in the third match in Dambulla on Sunda

Marsh said it was always part of his plan to give Smith a rest, regardless of the state of the current series which followed a dismal 3-0 Test whitewash by Sri Lanka.

“Steve has a large amount of cricket coming up in the next 12 months and we wanted to find a time for him to freshen up and these last five matches provide a good opportunity to do so,” Marsh said.

“Our plan was always for Steve to take a break and refresh ahead of the ODI series against South Africa next month.

“This is a great leadership opportunity for David, he has really embraced his role as vice-captain and we are confident he will do a great job in Steve’s place.”

Smith follows in the footsteps of Ricky Ponting (2006 and 2007), Mitchell Johnson (2009 and 2014) and Michael Clarke (2013) to lift the coveted trophy since the inception of the awards in 2004.

During the voting period, which ran from 18 September 2014 to 13 September 2015, the 26-year-old from New South Wales finished as the leading run-scorer in Tests with 1,734 runs in 25 innings of 13 matches at an average of 82.57. This included seven centuries and six half-centuries.

In 26 One-Day Internationals, Smith scored 1,249 runs at an average of just under 60 with four centuries and eight half-centuries. He was a member of the Australia side which won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.

South Africa’s ODI captain AB de Villiers has been named as the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year for the second successive year. He had also won this award in 2010. In the voting period, de Villiers scored 1,265 runs in 20 innings at an average of just over 79 and a strike-rate of 128.4.

He hit two centuries and nine half-centuries. Earlier this month, de Villiers was named as the captain of the ICC ODI Team of the Year.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for inspiring his side to play the game in its true spirit.

This was clearly evident throughout the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and in particular in the semi-final where McCullum showed humility and exemplary sportsmanship by inviting de Villiers and his side to the New Zealand’s dressing room after a closely-fought match.

Richard Kettleborough of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires has won his third successive David Shepherd Trophy for the ICC Umpire of the Year. He is the third umpire to a complete a hat-trick of titles after Simon Taufel (2004 to 2008) and Aleem Dar (2009-2011).

The full list of ICC Award 2015 winners is:

ICC Cricketer of the Year
(Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy)
– Steve Smith (Australia)

ICC Test Cricketer of the Year
– Steve Smith (Australia)

ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year
– AB de Villiers (South Africa)

ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year
– Meg Lanning (Australia)

ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year
– Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)

ICC T20I Performance of the Year

– Faf du Plessis (South Africa) (119, 56 balls, 11×4, 5×6 – 2nd T20I vs West Indies, 11 January 2015, Johannesburg)

ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year
– Josh Hazlewood (Australia)

ICC Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of the Year
– Khurram Khan (UAE)

ICC Spirit of Cricket Award
– Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)

ICC Umpire of the Year
(David Shepherd Trophy)
– Richard Kettleborough

New Zealand lost influential captain Brendon McCullum to the fifth ball of the match and were bowled out for 183.

Grant Elliott resisted with 83, while Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner shared eight wickets.

Australia rarely looked troubled, sealing a seven-wicket win in 33.1 overs, with captain Michael Clarke scoring 74 and Steve Smith 56 not out.

Clarke, in his final one-day international, was given a standing ovation by the record 93,000 crowd and welcomed by his team-mates on the boundary when he was bowled by Matt Henry with eight required.

He was part of the Australia team that last lifted the trophy in 2007, with this success extending their record for most World Cups won. No other team has more than two.