South African captain Faf du Plesssis’ appeal against the punishment handed out to him over a ball-tampering incident has been rejected by judicial commissioner Michael Beloff.

Du Plessis was fined 100 per cent of his match fee and given three demerit points after International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Andy Pycroft had found him guilty of changing the condition of the match ball by using a foreign object.

The said incident occurred during the second Test between Australia and South Africa at Hobart in November, when video footage appeared of du Plessis licking his finger with a sweet [considered a foreign object] in his mouth before applying it onto the ball.

The South African team had stood behind their skipper by stating that it is a common practice for cricketers to chew gum while fielding.

Pycroft found du Plessis guilty of breaching Article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to changing the condition of the match ball.

With the judicial commissioner not overturning the original decision, one could say that du Plessis is lucky that his punishment hasn’t been enhanced. He was a risking a one-match ban, having gone ahead with the appeal.

The 32-year-old was appointed as South Africa’s full-time Test captain last week after AB de Villiers quit the post citing that he required more time to recover from a recent surgery.

The South Africans host Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series, with the first Test scheduled to begin on December 26, 2016 at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth.