During the 2018 ball‑tampering scandal, Faf du Plessis reached out to Steve Smith to offer his support and said Smith had done nothing wrong. Du Plessis questioned why Smith accepted blame for the incident despite not being culpable, drawing on his own experience with a similar charge in 2016. He expressed empathy for Smith’s situation amid intense media criticism.
Why it matters
Followers of du Plessis may note his public defense of a fellow cricketer, reflecting his stance on accountability and camaraderie.
Key facts
- The message was revealed as occurring during the Sandpapergate incident.
- The interaction reinforced a bond of mutual respect between du Plessis and Smith.
Evidence
Credible reporting, but no official confirmation yet.
- ‘You did nothing wrong’: Faf reveals message to Steve Smith during Sandpapergatetimesofindia.indiatimes.comprimary(opens in a new tab)
- We’re behind you: Faf du Plessis came to Steve Smith’s support after ‘Sandpapergate’ eruptedhindustantimes.com(opens in a new tab)
- 'That was his superpower': Faf du Plessis reveals what made MS Dhoni specialtimesofindia.indiatimes.com(opens in a new tab)
How this update was made
- Written by AI. The headline, summary, “why it matters” and key facts were written by an AI model from the 3 reports under Evidence, and from nothing else.
- Checked by a program, not a person. Before it was published, every name, number and date in that text was matched against those reports. One that did not match would have thrown the whole summary away.
- Rules, not the AI, set the labels. “How sure we are” comes from who reported it and how many did. The importance score is a fixed formula over the kind of story and its sourcing; the kind of story is read from the headline by rules and by the AI.
- No one reviews it first. Updates are published as they arrive. If one is wrong, a person corrects or withdraws it at this address, and it says so.
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