South Africa’s captain Faf du Plessis has been charged by the ICC after footage appeared to show him using a mint to help shine the ball in the second innings of the Proteas’ commanding win over Australia during the second Test in Hobart.
Du Plessis has been charged with breaching Article 2.2.9 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct, which relates to changing the condition of the match ball in a way which is contrary to the laws of the game.
Under the laws, it is illegal to use an artificial substance to help shine the ball. There had been some question as to whether a mint or lolly was included as an artificial substance, but following ICC chief executive David Richardson’s decision to lay the charge on du Plessis, it would seem such a tactic is, in fact, in breach of the laws of the game.
Du Plessis has pleaded not guilty to the charge, meaning the matter will be put to a hearing in front of Andy Pycroft, who sits on the ICC’s panel of elite referees. The details of the hearing, including its date and time, are yet to be announced.
If found guilty, du Plessis faces a fine of between 50 and 100 per cent of his match fee from the Hobart Test, as well as up to two suspension points and three to four demerit points.
Two suspension points rule a player out for one Test or two ODIs, meaning, if found guilty, du Plessis is staring down the barrel of being rubbed out of the third Test against Australia in Adelaide.
Such a ruling would mean the Proteas would be down to their third-choice captain for the match, with du Plessis currently filling in for full-time skipper AB de Villiers.
This is not the first occasion du Plessis has earned the ire of the ICC for matters relating to ball tampering. Back in 2013, he was fined 50 per cent of his match fee for rubbing the ball on the zipper of his pocket during a Test match against Pakistan.
The third Test between Australia and South Africa begins next Thursday, November 24, at the Adelaide Oval.
G
Guest
Yeah especially world cups, they have been very successful in winning 4 of the last 5 oh wait...
Nige
Guest
Looking at the video, it doesn't 'look good' for Faf. Why do that, when the team was doing so well? What a pity!
Tom from Perth
Guest
Yeah chief, no need for your Pauline Hanson rhetoric here.
doogs
Guest
Alex, you are really not doing us Aussies any favours right now, buddy
doogs
Guest
lol. I love Dale Steyn's crazy eyes. They are awesome. What a great player. I was dissapointed he got injured. I won't mind if SA win the last test. I think what we really want to see, Phillip, is the Aussies putting up more fight. Making more of a game of it. I don't think it is just SA thriving on perceived injustice. There are a few cultures like that, but if I mention them, they will get upset lol. Best I keep that to myself. I am not so much into perceived injustice. I think things balance themselves out reasonable enough in the end.
doogs
Guest
i guess at least it might have spiced things up even more. Might make for even better cricket, Phillip.
doogs
Guest
No worries Pom. I appreciate you took my response in good spirit. I will happily have a cold one with you. I am sure it would be fun. I don't blame the Hobart game on Faf's lolly. We clearly caved in miserably and it was hard to watch. I still don't think Faf should be doing that but I don't think it altered the game markedly. SA have a great team now and I wondered why Faf was doing that. By the way, I love a good craft beer, mate.
Peter
Roar Rookie
and maybe that's the attitude guys like Amla and Steyn should take as well
Who is they? Just like the Aussies the South Africans discussing the issue have varying points of view. I personally don't really care, and have been making fun of this issue the whole week. Personally I find it as ridiculous to be making assumptions of guilt based on one incident, the same as I find it ridiculous that some are defending him. It Faf and the minties (box or packet) had a team effort in bringing about the demise of the Australian batsmen , and the proof of intent to alter the ball throughout the short Aussie innings is there, then ban the sh.t out of him. If it only happened once or twice then there really isn't any proof of intent. As far as banning players are concerned, it happens in rugby as well, however rarely is there such a hype about it. 'Storm in a teacup" "scandal" "takes shine off victory" Really? And just a question to deal with fairness of judgement. Is there someone that studies every second of video post match to look for any "questionable actions?" If so, I sincerely hope both teams are being scrutinised. Other than that, it really is a simple situation that really dosn't need to be blown all out of proportion untill the ICC has found Faf guilty and informed the public in detail the severity of his actions. Other than that I find many of these comments rather oof centre and quite entertaining.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Good. Then the South Africans really need to shut up about this and deal with any punishment they may or may not receive, because the more they talk the worse they make it for themselves.
Don Lampard
Guest
Yawn - tick, Aussies at the bottom of the cycle and imploding, tick, SA winning and bringing their hyper defensive A game in behind Faf - yawn
I think many want this to cast a shadow, but it really doesn't
Peter
Roar Rookie
The South African players that have talked about this are very defensive. Not sure why they are pushing it back to Australia. It's their problem, not ours. No matter how they spin it, it casts a shadow over their victory. Yeah we were still crap, but that's beside the point.
Moniano
Guest
Trescothick admits BALL TAMPERING during Ashes 2005! Marcus Trescothick has revealed that he sucked sweets to help keep the shine on the ball when playing for England. "I was firmly established as the man in charge of looking after the ball when we were fielding," says the 32-year-old in his new autobiography. "It was my job to keep the shine on the new ball for as long as possible with a bit of spit and a lot of polish - and through trial and error I finally settled on the best type of spit for the task at hand." He adds: "I had a go at Murray Mints and found they worked a treat."
Mitcher
Guest
You should direct your concerns to the ICC chief Dave Richardson. I trust you've heard of him. It's his charge.
Charl
Guest
Mitcher, what you say is reasonable and true. If Faf intentionally cheated, it is disappointing. I have learnt over many years not to jump to conclusions about the intentions of others without hard evidence though, so I'll wait till he's had a chance to put his side of the story out, and Dave Richardson, who is also a reasonable man, to draw a conclusion. For the rest, it's just a bit of baiting, mate. I have as much respect for Australians as for South Africans - fantastic people. But it's just so easy to get a response from some people, and so difficult to resist the impulse.....
superba
Guest
Alex you diminish yourself with comments like that . Pretty poor.
superba
Guest
My recollection is Faf was fined for the zipper incident but found not guilty in that it was considered to be accidental. A bit confusing but that is my recollection of the judgement. Please check on this Expert.
superba
Guest
Second innings in Hobart when Aussies 8 wickets down apparently.
superba
Guest
The first time the ICC found it was not intentional.