“In his mind Faf is clear that he did not alter the condition of the ball”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

In another twist to the Mingate or Lollygate scandal, South Africa stand-in captain Faf du Plessis has launched an appeal after being found guilty of ball-tampering.

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) fined Du Plessis his entire match fee from the second Test against Australia in Hobart for breaching clause 2.2.9 of their Code of Conduct, which relates to “changing the condition of the ball”. Du Plessis had 48 hours to appeal against the verdict and has opted to do so.

Du Plessis was seen on footage licking his fingers with a mint in his mouth and then repeatedly shining and rubbing the ball, but since the ICC was alerted, he has continued to proclaim his innocence.

While there were doubts about whether the 32-year-old would go ahead with his decision to appeal, Cricket South Africa revealed that Du Plessis is determined to clear his name and added that they are committed to helping him do so.

“In his mind Faf is clear that he did not alter the condition of the ball nor did he intend to do so and that the match referee was not correct to find him guilty,” Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat said. “He is understandably feeling aggrieved.

“CSA will support him to appeal the decision before an independent judicial commissioner as there are issues relating to fair and just process, interpretation of the rules, science and performance that needs to be considered.”