Faf du Plessis has said he “wasn’t aware” of South Africa’s players tampering with the ball in the Test match which followed the Sandpaper-gate scandal, after Tim Paine’s claims in his new book
In a wide-ranging interview with Mel Farrell, Wisden Cricket Monthly’s new star interviewer, du Plessis expanded on his perspective of the infamous series in 2018, including his thoughts on Paine’s claim that South Africa players tampered with the ball during the Wanderers Test match after Cameron Bancroft had been caught on camera rubbing sandpaper on the ball at Newlands.
“I wasn’t aware of anyone doing anything in that match,” du Plessis told WCM. “People who play a lot of cricket understand that the Wanderers is not a ground where the ball really reverses. The outfield is so lush, the pitch is quite green, and it’s very much a new-ball wicket, so reverse swing doesn’t play a massive role.
“But if he (Paine) says it, that’s his story, so he would have seen something. You wouldn’t put it in a book if you didn’t see it. I didn’t see it. I wasn’t even aware of anything on the camera. It’s not like we went to the broadcasters and said, ‘Hey guys, don’t point the camera at us’. And after what happened in Cape Town, I think everyone was scared of even looking at a ball. It wouldn’t be a great move if you thought about tampering with the ball because the cameras were everywhere.”
In his book, The Price Paid, a story of life, cricket and lessons learned which was released last month, Paine wrote: “I saw it happen in the fourth Test of that series… I was standing at the bowlers’ end in the next Test when a shot came up on the screen of a South African player at mid-off having a huge crack at the ball.”
Paine also hinted at the host broadcaster covering up the Proteas’ alleged illegal actions. “We went to the umpires about it, which might seem a bit poor, but we’d been slaughtered and were convinced they’d been up to it since the first Test,” he said. “But the footage got lost. As it would.”
Paine was appointed as stand-in captain for the remainder of the Test match at Newlands and the final Test of the series after Steve Smith and David Warner stood down from their roles as captain and vice-captain following the incident. Both received 12-month suspensions from all forms of international and Australian domestic cricket, and Warner was permanently barred from holding leadership positions in the Australia national team.
Following the retirement of Aaron Finch as Australia’s T20I captain, Cricket Australia confirmed a review of their ethical code, which could pave the way for Warner’s leadership ban to be lifted, allowing him to take the T20 captaincy role.
On Warner’s leadership suitability, du Plessis said: “I went through something like that myself and I became captain of South Africa, so I can’t judge him at all. For me he’s been part of a mistake and I believe people get second chances and people can change, be better.”
Du Plessis was charged with using a foreign object to change the condition of the ball in a 2013 Test match against Pakistan, where he was caught on camera rubbing the ball against the zip on his trouser pocket. Three years later, du Plessis was fined his entire match fee and handed three demerit points after an incident in a different series against Australia, where he was seen applying saliva to the ball directly from a mint in his mouth.
“All the mistakes I made shaped me into becoming so much better,” said du Plessis. “I think Davey has paid a harsh penalty, he’s done his time. If I was in a position where this guy’s the best candidate for captain purely from a leadership perspective, then [the past] wouldn’t bother me.
“When it happened at Newlands, I actually felt sorry for Cameron Bancroft. I have gone through it because I have done it as well when I was young at the start of my career, so you’re not really sure what to do. You’re just trying to do something to be a part of a team and add value in whatever way you can. And then with Steve Smith, you can see he’s trying to take accountability for the team that’s under him and everything under him is his responsibility.”
To read the full interview, including du Plessis thoughts on the end of his South Africa career and details on his new book – Faf: Through Fire, pick up a copy of the December edition of Wisden Cricket Monthly, available to buy in print and digital formats.
