South African vice-captain AB de Villiers has denied the allegations of ball-tampering against his team's batsman Faf du Plessis during the third day of the second Test against Pakistan, and insisted that they are not 'cheats'.
Du Plessis was allegedly seen on TV rubbing the ball on his trousers close to a zip on his thigh following which on-field umpires Rod Tucker and Ian Gould intervened by warning South African captain Graeme Smith, changing the ball and handing out a five-run penalty.
According to Sport24, as per the ICC rules, if the umpires lay charges against the fielder the match referee can impose a fine of 50 to 100 percent of his match fee or even ban the player.
However, De Villiers insisted that his team are not cheaters, saying that they are not the team that 'scratches the ball', adding that they play in a fair manner and want to swing the ball as much as they can and try to get it to reverse.
Defending Du Plessis, De Villiers further said that his teammate is the last man to try anything like that as it is a part of his responsibility to shine the ball, adding that he was surprised as to how the events unfolded on a day when his team had taken a firm grip on the match and were heading for a series-levelling win.
South Africa has dominated the match and will look to force a thumping victory on Saturday, with Pakistan, who won the first Test, finishing the third day on 132-4, still 286 runs behind and facing an innings defeat, the report added.