‘You did nothing wrong, just be strong’ – Faf du Plessis on his message to Steven Smith after Sandpapergate

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis revealed he sent words of encouragement to Australian captain Steven Smith following the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal. Du Plessis shared in a video series that he told Smith, "You did nothing wrong, just be strong," believing Smith was wrongly bearing the brunt of the media fallout for actions he did not personally commit.

Du Plessis drew parallels to his own 2016 ball-tampering charges in Hobart, where Smith had publicly defended him during intense scrutiny. Although Du Plessis initially anticipated the controversy would blow over within a week, Cricket Australia subsequently handed Smith a one-year ban and stripped him of the captaincy.