South Africa captain Faf du Plessis picked hosts England and 2011 champions India as the title favourites for this year's Cricket World Cup and said his side will go into the tournament with lowered expectations, which could work to their advantage.

South Africa's World Cup adventures have often ended in unfortunate circumstances -- including falling foul of an unfair rain rule, misreading the Duckworth–Lewis run-rate requirement, or comical run outs at the death.

Four years ago they seemed to have one foot in the final until New Zealand pipped them in a thrilling semi-final by belting a six off the penultimate ball of the match.

Such results have led to South Africa being labelled 'chokers' at the 50-over event, and in turn has lowered their expectations for the 30 May to July 14 tournament.

"We will go with a little bit less pressure on us as a team in terms of the expectation of winning it," Du Plessis, who team are ranked fourth in the ODI standings, said on Tuesday.

"It is pretty clear that England and India are the two favourites.

"We are a young group and the guys are just excited about the opportunity."

However, Du Plessis is aware that South Africa will still have to deal with a lot of hype in the run-up and during the tournament as well as the narrative of their past failures.

"We have gone to tournaments in the past where we have felt like we had the strongest team on paper, but cricket is not played on paper," he said.

"When opponents look at us now, we are not the strongest team. But when a South Africa team goes to the World Cup, the chat in the media starts, even the opposition starts to chat!"

MENTAL CHALLENGE

Du Plessis believes managing the mental side will be key for his squad, which is expected to include 10 debutants.

"I remember going through the process of the previous World Cup (in 2015)," he said. "Going through the hurt of putting in so much time and energy into trying to win a trophy, and by the end you are absolutely shattered.

"Yes, all of us badly want to win a World Cup but for me as a captain, it is very important to make sure that players don’t try to be supermen to win.

"I have felt like we have been guilty of that in the past ... and that expectation can (put) a lot of weight on your shoulders.

"They just need to go there and be the best they can be."

The World Cup will be played in a round-robin format with all 10 nations pitted against each other in the first round and the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals.

South Africa open their campaign against England at The Oval on May 30.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis picked hosts England and 2011 champions India as the title favourites for this year's Cricket World Cup and said his side will go into the tournament with lowered expectations, which could work to their advantage.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis picked hosts England and 2011 champions India as the title favourites for this year's Cricket World Cup and said his side will go into the tournament with lowered expectations, which could work to their advantage. South Africa's World Cup adventures have often ended in unfortunate circumstances -- including falling foul of an unfair rain rule, misreading the Duckworth–Lewis run-rate requirement, or comical run outs at the death. Four years ago they seemed to have one foot in the final until New Zealand pipped them in a thrilling semi-final by belting a six off the penultimate ball of the match. Such results have led to South Africa being labelled 'chokers' at the 50-over event, and in turn has lowered their expectations for the 30 May to July 14 tournament. "We will go with a little bit less pressure on us as a team in terms of the expectation of winning it," Du Plessis, who team are ranked fourth in the ODI standings, said on Tuesday. "It is pretty clear that England and India are the two favourites. "We are a young group and the guys are just excited about the opportunity." However, Du Plessis is aware that South Africa will still have to deal with a lot of hype in the run-up and during the tournament as well as the narrative of their past failures. "We have gone to tournaments in the past where we have felt like we had the strongest team on paper, but cricket is not played on paper," he said. "When opponents look at us now, we are not the strongest team. But when a South Africa team goes to the World Cup, the chat in the media starts, even the opposition starts to chat!" MENTAL CHALLENGE Du Plessis believes managing the mental side will be key for his squad, which is expected to include 10 debutants. "I remember going through the process of the previous World Cup (in 2015)," he said. "Going through the hurt of putting in so much time and energy into trying to win a trophy, and by the end you are absolutely shattered. "Yes, all of us badly want to win a World Cup but for me as a captain, it is very important to make sure that players don’t try to be supermen to win. "I have felt like we have been guilty of that in the past ... and that expectation can (put) a lot of weight on your shoulders. "They just need to go there and be the best they can be." The World Cup will be played in a round-robin format with all 10 nations pitted against each other in the first round and the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. South Africa open their campaign against England at The Oval on May 30.

India, England are 2019 World Cup title favourites, says South Africa's Du Plessis

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has lost his appeal against a ball-tampering conviction, but will be free to play in the first test against Sri Lanka starting on Boxing Day.

Du Plessis was found guilty by match referee Andy Pycroft of changing the condition of the ball after appearing to use saliva tainted by a mint in his mouth to shine it during the second test against Australia in Hobart last month.

South Africa won the test and the series 2-1, but the victory was overshadowed by what Du Plessis felt was an unjust targeting of him.

The skipper was fined his entire match fee and had three demerit points added to his record.

If a player accumulates four-to-seven demerit points within a two-year period they are converted into two suspension points, which brings a ban for one test or two one-day internationals or Twenty20s.

Du Plessis appealed against his punishment on Monday, questioning whether his actions changed the condition of the ball at all.

The Chair of the ICC&rsquo;s Code of Conduct Commission, Michael Beloff, upheld the verdict, but stopped short of increasing the sanction to an automatic one-match ban which would have been within his remit.

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive officer Dave Richardson welcomed the decision.

&ldquo;It is the duty of the ICC to ensure fair play on the cricket field,&rdquo; he said in a statement on Wednesday.

&ldquo;Although it was not picked up by the umpires at the time, when the incident came to our attention subsequently, we felt it was our responsibility to lay a charge in this case because the ICC can&rsquo;t let such an obvious breach of this Law pass without taking any action.

&ldquo;We are pleased that both the match referee and Mr Beloff QC have agreed with our interpretation of the Laws and hope that this serves as a deterrent to all players not to engage in this sort of unfair practice in the future.&rdquo;

Du Plessis, 32, was last week confirmed as South Africa&rsquo;s new permanent captain after AB de Villiers resigned having missed three test series in a row due to an elbow injury.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) accepted the decision.

&quot;We are satisfied with the matter being given due consideration,&rdquo; it said.

(Reuters)

du Plessis was found guilty of changing the condition of the ball in a Test match against Australia last month

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has lost his appeal against a ball-tampering conviction, but will be free to play in the first test against Sri Lanka starting on Boxing Day. Du Plessis was found guilty by match referee Andy Pycroft of changing the condition of the ball after appearing to use saliva tainted by a mint in his mouth to shine it during the second test against Australia in Hobart last month. South Africa won the test and the series 2-1, but the victory was overshadowed by what Du Plessis felt was an unjust targeting of him. The skipper was fined his entire match fee and had three demerit points added to his record. If a player accumulates four-to-seven demerit points within a two-year period they are converted into two suspension points, which brings a ban for one test or two one-day internationals or Twenty20s. Du Plessis appealed against his punishment on Monday, questioning whether his actions changed the condition of the ball at all. The Chair of the ICC’s Code of Conduct Commission, Michael Beloff, upheld the verdict, but stopped short of increasing the sanction to an automatic one-match ban which would have been within his remit. International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive officer Dave Richardson welcomed the decision. “It is the duty of the ICC to ensure fair play on the cricket field,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “Although it was not picked up by the umpires at the time, when the incident came to our attention subsequently, we felt it was our responsibility to lay a charge in this case because the ICC can’t let such an obvious breach of this Law pass without taking any action. “We are pleased that both the match referee and Mr Beloff QC have agreed with our interpretation of the Laws and hope that this serves as a deterrent to all players not to engage in this sort of unfair practice in the future.” Du Plessis, 32, was last week confirmed as South Africa’s new permanent captain after AB de Villiers resigned having missed three test series in a row due to an elbow injury. Cricket South Africa (CSA) accepted the decision. "We are satisfied with the matter being given due consideration,” it said. (Reuters)

Ball-tampering case: South Africa captain Faf du Plessis loses appeal

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India, England are 2019 World Cup title favourites, says South Africa's Du Plessis

Ball-tampering case: South Africa captain Faf du Plessis loses appeal