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South Africa v England

Sky Sports apologise after Buttler caught swearing at Philander on stump mic

by Wisden Staff 3 minute read

Sky Sports were forced to apologise on air during the fifth day’s play between South Africa and England at Cape Town after Jos Buttler was heard swearing at Vernon Philander on the stump microphone.

The heated moment occurred after tea in the 127th over of South Africa’s second innings. The catalyst seemed to be Philander not moving out of the way as a throw came into Buttler, leaving the keeper unsighted as he gathered the ball.

Buttler was then overheard branding Philander a “f***ing k***head”. Buttler and Philander exchanged more unpleasantries as the over came to an end, but no more swear words were heard.

Still, Sky felt it necessary to respond. “Apologies if you heard a little bit of foul language an over or two ago,” said presenter Nick Knight on air. “Obviously things are getting pretty heated out there at the moment.”

Buttler is no stranger to on-field obscenities, with a message reading ‘f*** it’ on the top of his bat handle causing a stir during his Test return against Pakistan at the start of the 2018 summer.

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