Captain Faf Du Plessis expressed his support for Steve Smith in a recent press conference. Photo / Getty
Captain Faf Du Plessis expressed his support for Steve Smith in a recent press conference. Photo / Getty
Proteas captain Faf du Plessis has confirmed that he had sent Australia cricket ex-captain Steve Smith a "message of support" in wake of the recent ball-tampering scandal.
On the eve of the fourth Test in Johannesburg, Du Plessis spoke on the situation and said that he had expressed his support for Smith, describing him as "one of the good guys" in cricket.
"From a really deep place in my heart I feel for the guy. You don't want to see guys going through that and it's going to be incredibly hard for him over the next days."
"I just sent him a message of support saying that he'll get through this, he must just be strong. He appreciated the message. There is a lot of respect between the two of us. He's a good leader for Australia."
"I know as a leader he would have tried to have his identity put into the Australian team and perhaps now that chance has been taken away from him, that's not nice. To be a captain of your country is a huge honour and you can see the disappointment. I feel really sorry for him."
Australian captain Steve Smith was banned for 12 months. Photo / Getty
"I think he is one of the good guys and he's just been caught in a bad place."
The series between South Africa and Australia has seen players called into the referee's room at the end of each match, while Du Plessis and the Proteas team have demanded more consistency and clarity in the application of the ICC's Code of Conduct.
Du Plessis acknowledged that Smith's ban may have been harsh, however, he said it was about time the ruling body woke up.
"I think it's overdue," said Du Plessis.
"As players, we don't know what's allowed and what's not allowed. Once you have those grey areas, a lot of things happen that shouldn't maybe happen. The good that can come from something like this is that you become a lot clearer, and players have a lot better understanding."
Faf du Plessis spoke to the media during the South African cricket team press conference at PPC Newlands Stadium. Photo / Getty
"All I've asked for is consistency. I do believe before this series that there were a lot of questions from us as a team and me as a captain, that the conversations and communication with us, you don't feel that same communication happens with certain players and certain teams around the world."
The ICC said in a statement on Thursday that they would undertake a full and wide-ranging review to "consider how to define a respect code".
"There has been significant debate over the last few weeks around behaviour of players and the leniency or otherwise in some cases of the associated punishments," said ICC chief executive David Richardson.
"The match officials work within the framework of the current ICC Code of Conduct and sanctions are applied according to that."
"To go outside of this current framework would be to disregard the rules. This is an opportune moment, therefore, to shape what the game looks like in the 21st century and take a much broader look at the issues currently facing the sport, and consider how we define what a spirit or respect code looks like today."
