Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has opened up about the private message of solidarity he sent to Steve Smith in the aftermath of the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, revealing that his own humiliating experience two years earlier gave him a unique understanding of what the Australian was enduring.

A Shared Experience Across Rival Dressing Rooms

Speaking in an interview with Cricinfo, du Plessis recalled watching Smith step forward at the end of play in Cape Town in 2018 and publicly accept responsibility for the incident — a gesture that struck the South African as both admirable and unnecessary. 'Steve came out at the end of the day (in Cape Town in 2018) saying: I take responsibility. And we were like: Why are you taking responsibility? You did nothing wrong,' du Plessis said.

The scandal centred on Cameron Bancroft being caught on camera attempting to alter the ball's condition using sandpaper during the Cape Town Test. The fallout was swift and severe: the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Smith for one Test, while Cricket Australia imposed a 12-month suspension on both Smith and David Warner. Bancroft received a nine-month ban.

Du Plessis Draws on 'Mintgate' in Hobart

For du Plessis, the episode was a mirror of his own ordeal from 2016, when he was found guilty of altering the ball's condition using saliva containing residue from a sweet during a Test in Hobart — an incident widely dubbed 'Mintgate'. He recalled how the backlash grew far beyond what the South African dressing room had anticipated.

'At the time, in our dressing room, honestly, we thought nothing has happened badly. But cameras [were] everywhere. And it just got built up into this thing now. All of a sudden, I was in real trouble. It was going around the world, people saying, Cheating. That weighs heavy on you,' he said.

The Private Message That Followed

Drawing on that personal experience, du Plessis reached out to Smith shortly after the Cape Town incident. He admitted he had badly misjudged how prolonged Smith's ordeal would prove to be.

'I remember sending a message and saying: Listen, I'm so sorry you are going through this. Just be strong. It's going to be a hell for a week or so and then it will probably blow over. Never knowing that it was going to be a year for him to go through. But just saying… we're behind you. We understand you did nothing wrong. So if you need anything from us, we're here,' du Plessis recalled.

Smith's Earlier Act of Solidarity During 'Mintgate'

Du Plessis also revisited an act of grace Smith had shown him during the 2016 Hobart controversy. Australia were trailing 0-2 in the Test series at the time — a moment when Smith could easily have used the scandal to apply pressure — but instead chose to defend his rival publicly.

'He was asked: What are your thoughts on Faf du Plessis and Mintgate, and it's terrible, he's cheating. And he's like, no, he's not. He's just shining the ball. I've been in many teams where we shine the ball, we use different sweets,' du Plessis said, recounting Smith's words.

The intervention, heard over the television in the South African dressing room, left a lasting impression on the entire squad. 'Literally everyone in our group was like, Wow, he doesn't have to do that. That was a choice where he went: I'm going to choose probably the human, the right thing, versus the pressure thing. That was amazing for me to see,' du Plessis said. 'I remember just saying that that meant a lot to the South African team and the respect that we got for Steve Smith that day.'

The reflections from du Plessis offer a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the human bonds that cut across fierce international rivalries — and at how two of cricket's most scrutinised ball-tampering incidents quietly forged an unlikely solidarity between rivals.