ICC dismisses Du Plessis's appeal in 'mintgate' row

Johannesburg [South Africa], Dec. 22 (ANI): South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis's appeal against the International Cricket Council's (ICC) verdict of ball-tampering case has been dismissed by judicial commissioner Michael Beloff. Last month, the 32-year-old was found guilty of breaching Article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct after television footage appeared to show him chewing a white lolly in his mouth, licking his finger on the mint before repeatedly shining and rubbing the ball during the fourth day's play of the second Test against Australia in Hobart. He was fined 100 percent of his match fee by the ICC, but was cleared to play the third day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval. He was also handed three demerit points by ICC Match Referee Andy Pycroft. In a hearing that was conducted in Dubai on Monday, it was decided that the original decision was appropriate and the appeal was dismissed. The meeting was chaired by Michael Beloff QC in Dubai, with legal counsel of both parties attending the hearing in person and Du Plessis joining in via telephone. ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said, "It is the duty of the ICC to ensure fair play on the cricket field. Although it was not picked up by the umpires at the time, when the incident came to our attention subsequently, we felt it was our responsibility to lay a charge in this case because the ICC can't let such an obvious breach of this Law pass without taking any action." "We are pleased that both the Match Referee and Mr Beloff QC have agreed with our interpretation of the Laws and hope that this serves as a deterrent to all players not to engage in this sort of unfair practice in the future," Sport24 quoted Richardson as saying. "It goes without saying that we will be reviewing the outcome to determine if any additional guidelines are needed to provide further clarity to the players and umpires around this type of offence. However we are satisfied that the law is clear and is implemented consistently," he added. (ANI)