Cape Town: Faf du Plessis says he’s not a cheat but did rub a cricket ball “too close” to a zip on his trousers, leading to the South African batsman’s fine for ball tampering in the second Test against Pakistan.
In his column for SuperSport, Du Plessis denied he was trying to cheat even though he pleaded guilty in the, writing “that’s not the kind of person I am.”
However, he says “I’ll be the first to admit that I was working it far too close to my zip.”
Du Plessis was fined half his match fee after being caught on TV working the ball over the pocket zip, a punishment criticized by Pakistan officials as too lenient.
He says the ball was not affected “and that’s why I think my penalty was not as harsh.”
The International Cricket Council (ICC), while responding to Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) letter to protest the ‘meagre’ punishment handed to South African player Faf du Plessis for ball-tampering in comparison to the one dished out to all-rounder Shahid Afridi for the same offence in Australia two years ago, has justified the match-referees’ decision in the two cases.
“The ICC stated that both cases have been dealt on merit and on different grounds,” said PCB’s Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmad while talking to reporters here on Thursday.
He further said that the ICC adopted the stance since it was for the first time that du Plessis had been involved in a ball-tampering incident.
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