It is "getting really bitter as South Africa arrived in Adelaide hot on the heels of the Lollygate scandal" that involved Test captain Faf du Plessis, according to the HINDUSTAN TIMES. The third Test in Adelaide, "a pink ball affair," starts on Thursday. Security staff, aligned with the South African cricket team, "roughed up an Australian TV reporter who was looking for a quick reaction from du Plessis" when the Proteas arrived at Adelaide airport on Monday. Nine news reporter Will Crouch "was at the receiving end when South African security man Zunaid Wadee tackled him, rugby style." Crouch had "the microphone knocked out of his hand as he tried to reach Du Plessis." South Africa Manager Mohammed Moosajee said in a statement, "The 'reporter' at the airport disrespected us and continued to harass Faf for comment. The 'reporter' was also in the unusual position of being in the middle of the players' walkway to the bus." The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported it was the second time in two days the South Africans "have resorted to violent measures to deal with journalists." On Saturday, Wadee "put Nine reporter Corey Norris in a headlock at the team’s hotel in Melbourne, the Telegraph website said" (HINDUSTAN TIMES, 11/21).
IGNORING 'MEDIA PROTOCOL': THE NATIONAL reported Moosajee said that the Australian media, and Channel 9 in particular, "had been advised that Du Plessis could not comment on the matter until a hearing was held." He added that Channel 9 had "blatantly ignored" its "media protocol" both at the team hotel in Melbourne over the weekend and "when the squad arrived at Adelaide airport on Monday." TV pictures showed a Channel 9 reporter "trying to push his way past South Africa officials and players to ask Du Plessis for comment, as one of his colleagues had in Melbourne over the weekend." Moosajee: "He was advised to move three times, and did not adhere to this request. The ‘reporter,’ who also had no official accreditation, then proceeded to lunge towards Faf with an unknown object causing a direct breach of security protocol." TV pictures showed the "unknown object" to be Crouch’s microphone (THE NATIONAL, 11/21). In Sydney, Peter Lalor reported the Int'l Cricket Council confirmed that former South Africa captain Hashim Amla "may also be facing charges" for labeling the allegations a "joke." Du Plessis showed his "continued contempt" for the situation by "poking a mint out of his mouth at television crews as he walked through the airport." It is a "bizarre situation with Nine the host broadcaster for Test cricket and one that has sparked a standoff behind the scenes" with the South Africans "threatening not to co-operate with the network" during the last Test which starts on Thursday. TV news crews this week "have sniffed a crisis and swarmed the South Africans, camping outside their team hotel and waiting in airports to get a reaction from du Plessis" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 11/22).
