Sandpaper gate | I sent Steve Smith a message of support, says Faf du Plessis

The ongoing South Africa-Australia series has been a hugely controversial one with everything other than cricket taking the centre stage. The ball-tampering incident that happened on the third day during the Cape Town where Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera while he was trying to alter the condition of the ball, which eventually led to Cricket Australia banning the Australian skipper, vice-captain David Warner for a period of one year, and Cameron Bancroft for nine months.

Yesterday, after reaching the Sydney airport, Steve Smith broke down in tears and asked the cricketing world to forgive him for his wrongdoings. The video went viral on social media and the cricket fraternity suddenly started showing their compassion for the disgraced Aussie. Smith also found a supporter in his opposing team captain Faf du Plessis, who showed his sympathy for him.

"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," du Plessis said in the pre-match press-conference, reported Cricinfo.

"I do feel sorry for Steve and I do have a compassion for what he is going through. I think he is one of the good guys and he's just been caught in a bad place. He's obviously taken responsibility for that. We're not sitting in a glass house where we think we are better than them in that aspect. It's a mistake that was made and I feel that, it's easier said than done, but they can move on now. You don't want to see any cricketer or person go through that amount of pain. I feel for what he's going through as a captain."

Du Plessis was earlier involved in two ball-tampering incidents in the past and was also banned for two matches for it. However, talking about the Australians’ crime, the South African said that the ban by the Cricket Australia will be an example for the ICC, who just fined Bancroft 75% of his match fees.

"From where I'm sitting, I think it (Smith's sanction) is harsh if you go back into the history where certain players have been in similar situations. The positive from that is that this is making even the ICC realise that they (Cricket Australia) are going harsher than them so maybe they need to sharpen up. If you do intend to do something illegal with the ball, you don't just walk away from it with three demerit points and a 75% fine," du Plessis said, referring to the penalty handed down to Cameron Bancroft.

However, du Plessis didn’t rule out the chances that the Aussies didn’t do the same mistake in the previous matches of the series. On being asked about the same, the South African replied, “I thought so, yes. This series the ball has been reversing quite a bit. We thought there was no way the ball can go so early. It’s just unheard of for a South African series, with the ball to go this much.”