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

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been charged with ball tampering during the second test against Australia in Hobart, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday.

The ICC announced on Wednesday that it would review footage of the match that appeared to show du Plessis applying saliva to the ball with a lolly in his mouth.

&quot;The charge relates to changing the condition of the ball in breach of Law 42.3 and has been laid by the ICC Chief Executive David Richardson who has exercised his right to do so,&quot; the ICC said in a statement.

&quot;Du Plessis has pleaded not guilty to the charge ... Details of the hearing will be announced in due course,&quot; the governing body added.

If proven guilty, du Plessis could be handed a maximum fine of 100 per cent match fee, two suspension points and four demerit points. Two suspension points equates to a ban of one test match.

Earlier in the day, Hashim Amla was accompanied at a media briefing by the entire South African squad and support staff to &quot;show solidarity&quot; with their captain.

Amla said du Plessis has done &quot;absolutely nothing wrong&quot;.

&quot;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&#39;s not April,&quot; Amla said, hours before the ICC charge was announced.

&quot;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.&quot;

The 32-year-old du Plessis, the stand-in captain for the injured AB de Villiers has previously been in hot water for ball tampering.

In 2013, he was fined 50 per cent of his match fee for ball tampering in the second test against Pakistan.

He was caught on camera rubbing the ball against a zip on his pocket on the third day of the match in Dubai, leading umpires Ian Gould and Rod Tucker to penalise South Africa five runs and change the ball. Du Plessis did not contest the charge.

South Africa&#39;s innings and 80-run win over Australia in Hobart sealed the three-match test series with a game in hand.

(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

The council will review footage of the match that showed du Plessis applying saliva to the ball to change its condition

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been charged with ball tampering during the second test against Australia in Hobart, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday. The ICC announced on Wednesday that it would review footage of the match that appeared to show du Plessis applying saliva to the ball with a lolly in his mouth. "The charge relates to changing the condition of the ball in breach of Law 42.3 and has been laid by the ICC Chief Executive David Richardson who has exercised his right to do so," the ICC said in a statement. "Du Plessis has pleaded not guilty to the charge ... Details of the hearing will be announced in due course," the governing body added. If proven guilty, du Plessis could be handed a maximum fine of 100 per cent match fee, two suspension points and four demerit points. Two suspension points equates to a ban of one test match. Earlier in the day, Hashim Amla was accompanied at a media briefing by the entire South African squad and support staff to "show solidarity" with their captain. Amla said du Plessis has done "absolutely nothing wrong". "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," Amla said, hours before the ICC charge was announced. "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." The 32-year-old du Plessis, the stand-in captain for the injured AB de Villiers has previously been in hot water for ball tampering. In 2013, he was fined 50 per cent of his match fee for ball tampering in the second test against Pakistan. He was caught on camera rubbing the ball against a zip on his pocket on the third day of the match in Dubai, leading umpires Ian Gould and Rod Tucker to penalise South Africa five runs and change the ball. Du Plessis did not contest the charge. South Africa's innings and 80-run win over Australia in Hobart sealed the three-match test series with a game in hand. (Reuters)

South Africa captain du Plessis charged with ball tampering: ICC

faf-du-plessis

Faf Du Plessis, News on Faf Du Plessis, stories on Faf Du Plessis, articles on Faf Du Plessis, Faf Du Plessis stories at Wion, Faf Du Plessis news, Faf Du Plessis latest news

faf du-plessis

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

South Africa captain du Plessis charged with ball tampering: ICC