Melbourne [Australia], Nov.16 : The International Cricket Council (ICC) is reviewing the video footage showing South Africa stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis deliberately shining the ball during the second Test against Australia in Hobart with the aid of mint-infused saliva.
A day after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series with a crushing win by an innings and 80 runs against Australia, a footage emerged showing du Plessis chewing a white lolly in his mouth, licking his finger on the mint before repeatedly shining and rubbing the ball.
"The ICC has been alerted to the footage and is currently reviewing the incident from the perspective of it being a possible breach of the ICC Code of Conduct," an ICC spokesperson was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
The tactics appears to be similar to those used by England during the 2005 Ashes series to enhance the ball's ability to swing.
Although no action was taken against England 11 years ago, the law 42.3 of the MCC Laws of Cricket states that a fielder is allowed to polish a ball "provided that no artificial substance is used".
The ICC now has five days from the close of play on Tuesday to lay a charge on the South Africa skipper after neither of the match referees reported the incident.
The stand-in skipper was warned in the first Test as well for deliberately bouncing the ball along the ground to rough it up.
It should be noted this is not the first time that the 32-year-old batsman has been caught doing something with the ball.
In 2013, he was fined 50 percent of the match fee during the second Test against Pakistan for rubbing the ball with his trouser zipper.
Source: ANI
