Proteas coach Russell Domingo says that shining the ball with artificial substances occurs regularly.
The greatest defense for the Proteas captain, according to Domingo, is that everyone is guilty of doing so.
Domingo spoke to reporters before the hearing, stepping lightly over the topic of the ball-tampering allegations Faf du Plessis is facing.
‘You see it daily with those types of instances taking place on the field. I don’t want to talk about the incident too much but it seems to be a daily occurrence on the field of play so the administrators might need to re-look at that should they feel it’s not within the spirit of the game,’ Domingo said.
‘There are other teams that have maybe done similar things and we’ve maybe looked at one or two instances that they have done those things and they haven’t been highlighted. I wouldn’t say we’ve been targeted but we’ve definitely been highlighted.’
‘It’s definitely been brought to the attention of the world and it’s definitely been brought to the attention of the ICC and it’s definitely been brought to our attention. Although it seemed pretty insignificant at the start of it, quite a lot has been made of it,’ he continued.
Talking about the 32-year-old’s well-being regarding the backlash of the incident, Domingo has revealed that Du Plessis is holding up well despite the negative media attention and hassle aggressive reporters.
‘It’s never pleasant when everybody has got an opinion on you and people have judged you before rulings have been made. That’s the nature of the world at the moment, everybody has got an opinion and can air it. When you are constantly seeing yourself in newspapers and have things written about you, I suppose it does weigh you down at times,’ the coach said.
‘He is a tough and resilient man and the team really supported him and surrounded him to lessen the load on him.’
Domingo defended his side’s reaction to the incident after the Proteas squad, led by Hashim Amla, labeled the allegations as ‘a joke’ last Friday in a video which did the rounds online. The SA coach believes that despite the outcome of the hearing his side would not have handled the situation any differently.
‘We are a unified team. We stand by our captain. We stand by the decisions we’ve made. They might not have always come across as the ideal way to do things but at that time and space we thought those were the right things to do,’ he said.
Whether Du Plessis plays in the day-night Test in Adelaide or not, the Proteas coach believes that his side will remain hyped to hand a possible whitewash to the Aussies. He emphasises the togetherness which keeps the side motivated and reveals that this is largely due to the captain.
‘Hopefully these incidents do galvanise the team a bit more. There’s definitely a feeling of togetherness and unity in the group and a lot of support for the current captain,’ Domingo said.
‘It’s been an interesting few days. We’ve had a wonderful tour here, it’s been great, we’ve played great cricket. We’ve had long discussions and our focus now is purely on cricket. It hasn’t been ideal preparation. I would be lying if I say its been spectacular preparation but our focus is totally on the cricket.’
Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
