Watch: Shocking Moment As Faf du Plessis Involved In Physical Confrontation With Jos Buttler

Things nearly got out of control when South Africa stars Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen were frustrating England on day four of the just-concluded fourth Test in Johannesburg. Chasing an improbable 466, South Africa started poorly once again as their openers Pieter Malan and Dean Elgar departed cheaply.

Faf du Plessis then decided to take the matters in his own hands but not with the bat. In a bizarre moment, the South Africa captain was seen clashing physically with England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler at the end of the 57th over. Tempers frayed after a throw from Sam Curran at mid-off hit Faf du Plessis and he then became involved in a heated exchange with Stuart Broad.

As the players converged, du Plessis appeared to deliberately come into contact with Buttler as he continued his argument with Broad who, he believed, had called him an “idiot”. Faf du Plessis was seen pushing Buttler before turning his attention towards Broad. Later, England captain Joe Root was also seen talking to his South Africa counterpart.

Here is a clip of that incident:

#SAvsENG #ProteaFire don’t call our skipper that!!☝? pic.twitter.com/dzUECGbIS0

— Thabiso Mazibuko (@therealThabiso1) January 27, 2020

Faf du Plessis defends himself:

Speaking at the end of the game, Faf du Plessis defended himself, saying that there was no malicious intention behind his action. He stated that Broad’s comments made him hit back at the England pacer before Buttler tried to get between the two during the heated altercation.

“It’s part of my character,” said Du Plessis. “I am always involved in a little bit of something somewhere in the game – trying to show that fight as the leader of the team, that you don’t stand back. It’s not like I am looking for it. It just happens. He said something to me and I said something back.

“I don’t think we knew we touched each other. It was just myself and Broady having a go. He [Buttler] was just trying to get between myself and him.

“There was no malicious intent. He was trying to defuse the situation. He didn’t do anything wrong. It was just words from Broady. It just got a bit heated. If you say something towards me, I will say something back,” he added.

Also Read:ICC Test Championship Points Table After End Of South Africa vs England Series