“Faf has done absolutely nothing wrong”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have charged South Africa stand-in captain Faf du Plessis with “changing the condition of the ball in breach of Law 42.3”.

Du Plessis has pleaded not guilty to the charge and a formal hearing will take place “in due course”. Should the 32-year-0ld still be found guilty after the hearing, he could be fined between 50 to 100 per cent of his match fee and/or be hit with two suspension points, along with three or four demerit points.

The ICC were alerted to footage that showed Du Plessis licking his fingers with a mint in his mouth before repeatedly shining and rubbing the ball in the 54th over of Australia’s second innings in the second Test in Hobart.

South Africa veteran batsman Hashim Amla admitted that he was surprised with the ICC’s decision and insisted that Du Plessis did nothing wrong.

“The reason everyone is here is to stand together, really, and to show solidarity to something … we thought was actually a joke,” Amla said. “It’s not April, but the allegation against Faf was … a really ridiculous thing.

“As a team, we’re standing strong, we’ve done nothing wrong. It’s basically a joke.”

He added: “Whether it is or not, we’ve done nothing wrong and I know Faf has done absolutely nothing wrong. I chew bubble gum while I’m on the field – you want me to brush my teeth after lunch?

“We’re standing out on the field for two hours … there was no malicious intent whatsoever. Is it proven or what? Because that’s something that is really new to us.

“I’ve had sweets in my mouth, bubblegum in my mouth, biltong, nuts – I’m not sure what the big deal is. To a lot of people, it’s sounding more like sour sweets.”

This is not the first time Du Plessis has been in hot water for ball tampering as in the first Test in Perth, he was warned by the umpires for bouncing the ball on the ground in order to roughen it up.

He was also docked 50 per cent of his match fee during a Test match against Pakistan in 2013 for rubbing the ball near the zipper of his trouser pocket.