Amidst the current ball-tampering row in cricket fraternity over the use of sandpaper by Australia to reverse the ball, South African Captain Faf du Plessis suspects that the visitors earlier in the series employed similar tactics.
The Australians had used sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball to gain an advantage with the ball. However, the tactics were caught on camera and were soon the discussion amongst fans and experts alike.
Australian players Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were all found guilty in the incident and were sanctioned bans by Cricket Australia on Wednesday.
Steve Smith was sacked as captain along with the 12-month ban. David Warner had endured similar spell but will never be able to lead Australia anytime in the future. Meanwhile, young cricketer Cameron Bancroft was banned for nine months.
Reverse swing has been the major factor in the ongoing test series between Proteas and Aussies as the sides boast the top 2 best pace attacks in the world.
However, on South African pitches reverse swing would normally occur around 50th over when the ball starts to lose its shine. Faf du Plessis had not refrained from his suscipions when a reporter questioned if he believed Australia were using tactics before the third test.
“I thought so, yes,” du Plessis said.
“The series the ball has been reversing quite a bit.
“I joked about it this last Test match, (saying) I’ve never seen so many guys put up their hand to open the batting.
“Normally, it’s green wickets and spicy (conditions) in the beginning (which concern batsmen), but now the biggest challenge in this series is coming in when the ball is tailing around.
“Whether that’s at 30 overs or 50 overs. It was just the nature of when the ball was reversing (that made him suspicious), that’s all.
Du Plessis added:
“Without having any evidence of it, we thought there’s no way that the ball can go so early.
“It’s unheard of for a South African series where the ball is (reverse-swinging) this much.
“We try and do the same, we try and get that ball to talk as much as possible. But we certainly don’t walk around with sandpaper in our pockets.”
