Hashim Amla has backed Faf du Plessis, South Africa’s stand-in skipper, who has been alleged to have tampered the ball during the second Test match against Australia at Hobart. Amla, former South Africa Test captain, claimed such media reports as a ‘joke’.
Addressing the media in Melbourne on Friday afternoon, Amla, accompanied with the entire playing squad and support staff, entered the room with the vision to back their skipper in such a situation and show solidarity within the team.
“Good afternoon everybody. As you can see we have the full team here behind us. The reason everybody is here is to stand together and to show solidarity to what has been something we actually thought was a joke. It’s not April. But the allegations against Faf were really, for us, a ridiculous thing and as a team we are standing strong. For us it is basically a joke. The boys are here, standing strong,” said Amla.
Amla further defended his skipper by claiming players often have something or the other in their mouth to chew during the game of cricket.
“I chew bubblegum while I am fielding. Do you want me to brush my teeth after lunch every time I come out? You’ve got to be logical about this, common sense surely should prevail. If I’ve got something in my mouth, guys are handing out red froggies at lunch time to give the kids, keep them hydrated, energise them and we are in the field for two hours. We eat nuts, biltong, that sort of thing. There was no malicious intent.”
Amla did not sound pleased with such media reports and went a bit far by saying that the reaction to the footage could be an attempt to discredit South Africa’s dominance in the series.
“To me and to a lot of people, it is sounding like sour sweets for people in their heads that we’ve played really good cricket and the timing of it is that it’s a bit weird too,” he said.
In less than couple of hours after Amla spoke, Faf was formally charged and pleaded not guilty. The visiting team are awaiting legal counsel before a date for the hearing can be decided, so, it is uncertain whether it will take place before the Adelaide Test, starting next Thursday. If found guilty, du Plessis could face a suspension of one Test.