In the spring months of both 2015 and 2016, South Africa learnt some hard lessons about the lengths to which other international cricket teams were willing to go to derail their proud overseas record.
DURBAN SPAT
De Kock-Warner row - South Africa do an 'Australia' on Australia
The CCTV footage of David Warner verbally abusing Quinton de Kock in a stairwell reached the media © AFP
In 2015, they found that blades of grass were hard to come by on Indian pitches, as the hosts prepared surfaces that gave their spinners a distinct advantage. The tactic was pushed so far that the Nagpur pitch, which produced an Indian victory inside three days, was subsequently rated 'poor' by the ICC. It was a consequence that India were happy to shrug off as they celebrated a 3-0 series victory and a big step towards the No 1 ranking.
If South Africa took on a siege mentality on that tour, it was nothing compared to the personal one experienced by Faf du Plessis a year later. On his first overseas trip as captain, du Plessis found himself at the centre of a ball-tampering storm. The allegations didn't come from the match officials, or the ICC, but an Australian television channel.
Although the ICC subsequently investigated the footage and found du Plessis guilty, that was merely an annoyance next to the harassment he experienced from the Australian media. So eager were the media to get in the South African captain's face that the team's security officer had to
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