Cape Town – The South African team management on Sunday called forflexibility in dealing with over-rate regulations following a one-match banimposed on captain Faf du Plessis.
He will miss the third and final Test against Pakistan starting inJohannesburg on Friday.
Du Plessis was banned for one Test after being found guilty, for the secondtime in a 12-month period, of captaining a team which maintained a slowover-rate.
South Africa opted for an all-pace attack in the second Test at Newlandsand were found by match referee David Boon to be one over short of therequired rate of 15 overs an hour after time allowances were taken intoaccount.
Team media manager Lerato Malekutu said: “The team management and Faf haveaccepted and respect the decision as it falls under the InternationalCricket Council code of conduct.
“However they feel there could be a bit of flexibility given thefour-pronged seam attack, taking 20 wickets within three days and playing apositive brand of cricket, rather than trying to delay or slow down thematch.”
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Du Plessis had scarcely finished extolling the virtues of Test cricket –and in particular the excitement generated by fast bowlers — before hefound himself banned because of the time it takes those bowlers to delivertheir overs.
South Africa won the match — and clinched the series — with almost twodays to spare.
Du Plessis was previously found guilty of what the International CricketCouncil, in announcing the ban, described as a “minor over-rate offence”after the second Test against India in Centurion in January last year.
In addition to the ban, Du Plessis was fined 20 percent of his match feeand the rest of the players were fined 10 percent of their fee. – APP/AFP
