Penalised Faf Du Plessis Claims Innocence, Says He Has Done Nothing Wrong

Nov 23, 2016 at 12:49 PM

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Penalised Faf Du Plessis Claims Innocence, Says He Has Done Nothing Wrong

South Africa’s stand-in Test captain Faf du Plessis has claimed innocence during the press conference ahead of the Adelaide Test after being found guilty in the ball-tampering case, which saw him paying a fine of 100% of his match fee.

Alleged to have used an outside substance to change the condition of the ball during the Hobart Test against Australia, the skipper pleaded innocence saying he has done nothing wrong.

“Yesterday was the hearing and the verdict was that I was guilty. I completely disagree with that,” du Plessis said.

“I felt like I have done nothing wrong. There’s two ways of looking at it, either ball-shining or ball-tampering. For me, if you talk about ball-tampering, that is something that’s wrong. It’s picking the ball, scratching the ball.

“Shining is something that all cricketers would say is not in that same space. It is something all cricketers do and I think there will be a lot of emphasis after this incident on where the game is going, what the ICC is going to do about it. I don’t believe shining is wrong. It’s not like I was trying to cheat or anything. I was shining a ball and I see no problem with that.”

‘Joke’ as it was called by the Proteas batsman Hashim Amla, many current and former cricketers too came out in support of Faf including former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, Matt Prior and James Taylor.

Australian skipper Steven Smith also in his press conference surprisingly backed du Plessis saying,”Along with every other, shine the ball the same way”, to know that it is commonplace in the game.

Faf du Plessis, during the press conference, also mentioned shinning the ball is a part of the game and it’s something which is not written anywhere.

“The ex-players have spoken about it. It’s part of our game. It’s been an unwritten rule. Some people use sunblock to shine the ball. I know of people who carry lip-ice in their pocket and shine the cricket ball or gum. So many things. It’s just so difficult to say what is right and what is wrong. To say that when you have a sweet in your mouth, it’s wrong but when you have a sweet in your mouth and the camera doesn’t pick up on it, it’s okay. It’s just a really massive grey area,” he added.

South Africa’s chief executive Horgan Lorgat too intervened in the matter saying they would consult further with lawyers before deciding whether to appeal the guilty verdict.

“At this stage we have advised Faf to reserve his position as regards the match referee’s finding and wait for the full reasons of his decision before deciding his next step.

“Faf is obviously disappointed by the decision and I can understand that. In fairness to both him and the ICC, this is an unprecedented case involving unique issues of policy, science and performance that need to be carefully considered at the highest levels within the game.”

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