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ICC hands down ruling on Du Plessis' ball tampering

22nd November, 2016
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South Africa need their star batsman and skipper Faf du Plessis. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
22nd November, 2016
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South African cricket captain Faf du Plessis has escaped suspension after being charged with ball tampering in the second Test win against Australia.

Du Plessis pleaded not guilty to breaching Level 2 of the Code of Conduct for ball tampering.

However, after a longer than expected hearing, the International Cricket Council (ICC) found there was enough evidence to hand du Plessis a fine.

Match referee Andy Pycroft was in charge of the meeting with lawyers for both the ICC and du Plessis appearing via video link.

The 32-year-old was caught on camera appearing to rub a mint inside his mouth before shining the ball.

The moment had generated plenty of debate about ball tampering with the practice of using mints and other sweets being a widespread issue in the game.

Du Plessis had also been docked half his match pay in a previous ball tampering incident three years ago when he rubbed the ball on a zipper.

Earlier David Warner had expressed his feelings about ball tampering.

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“The rules are in place for a reason – if you’re not going to use them why bother having them?” he said.

“That’s the fortunate things these days. They’ve got their rules and they’ll stand by these decisions. I think that’s a good thing.

The ruling means du Plessis is free to play in the third and final Test match in Adelaide on Thursday.

It ends a strange few days for the South African team, which included a team press conference defending the captain and a run in with two separate Channel Nine journalists.

The team will be hoping to put the drama to one side and focus on a rare series clean sweep in Australia.

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