'We're not ball tamperers,' insists Proteas' AB de Villiers
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Your support makes all the difference.AB de Villiers insisted South Africa were not cheats after his side were penalised five runs for ball tampering against Pakistan during the second Test in Dubai.
Umpires Ian Gould and Rod Tucker punished the Proteas after tea on the third day when they found a change in the condition of the ball. Television replays showed Faf du Plessis was rubbing the ball over a zip on his thigh.
"Honestly, we're not the team that scratches the ball," De Villiers said. "We don't cheat, it's as simple as that. I know Faffy very well, he's the last man to try anything like that."
De Villiers said Du Plessis, South Africa's captain in Twenty20s, was responsible for looking after the condition of the ball and keeping the shine on. "It's not an easy job, I thought he did it very well," De Villiers said.
But the umpires summoned captain Graeme Smith after the 30th over, changed the ball, and Gould signalled five penalty runs to be added to Pakistan's total as extras.
Pakistan were 67-3 at the time in their second innings, trying to score 418 to avoid an innings defeat. They finished the day at 132-4, still 286 runs short.
Dottin fires warning for England
England's women lost their final round-robin match in the Tri-nations series as West Indies claimed a dramatic super-over victory.
Jenny Gunn took two wickets as England limited the hosts to 118 in their 20 overs but Stafanie Taylor, who also top-scored with 40, struck three times as the game ended in a tie. Danielle Wyatt was run out in the super over as England made 6 for 1. Two fours from Deandra Dottin saw West Indies home.
The two sides meet again in the series final.
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