Faf in the dark about appeal

FAF du Plessis will have to keep his chewing gum on the bedpost overnight after the International Cricket Council (ICC) made no announcement about his appeal against a ball-tampering conviction yesterday.

The hearing‚ chaired by judicial commissioner Michael Beloff‚ a prominent sports lawyer, was scheduled to start at noon (SA time) in Dubai with Du Plessis set to join discussions on the phone.

By 7.30pm (Dubai time), nothing had been heard from the ICC, and a spokesman said a release was likely in the morning.

Match referee Andy Pycroft fined Du Plessis his entire match fee and slapped him with three demerit points after South Africa’s captain was caught slathering the ball with as much of his own spit as his fingers could carry during the second test against Australia in Hobart last month. All good. Except that a mint was blatantly visible in Du Plessis’s mouth when he inserted his fingers to fetch that spit.

And that was not at all good in terms of law 42.3‚ which bars the use of artificial substances‚ like sugar‚ in bids to manage the ball.

Du Plessis has maintained his innocence steadfastly‚ saying in Cape Town last week that he “didn’t agree with the whole way it happened and unfolded‚ even the hearing that took place and how everything works when it comes to those hearings”.

“Even if it meant that it was a decision that came out in a way I didn’t want it to‚ for me it’s the principle of standing up to something you don’t agree with.”

It is within Beloff’s power to decrease or increase Du Plessis’s punishment – he may be banned for the first test on Monday.