Proteas insist won't allow De Villiers to be suspended for slow over-rate

South Africa cricket team players have rallied behind their captain AB de Villiers, claiming that under no circumstances would they allow their skipper to be suspended for the team's slow over-rate, insisting that it is just non-negotiable.

However, South Africa's number three batsman Faf du Plessis had admitted that the squad has no answers on how to improve after failing to meet their 50-over deadline in last Sunday's World Cup Pool B loss to India at the MCG.

De Villiers was fined 20 percent of his match fee after South Africa was ruled to be one over behind the required rate and if they are fined again in the World Cup before the final, one-day cricket's top-ranked batsman de Villiers would be banned for one match, News.com.au reported.

Du Plessis said that there has been honestly a lot of talk about it. He recalled that he missed a game in the Twenty20 World Cup being captain and it was huge for him at the time.

The batsman added that he also missed a game against England in 2014 in Bangladesh.

However, Du Plessis claimed that under no circumstances can De Villiers ever miss a game in the World Cup, insisting that that's just non-negotiable. He said that they are as a team guilty of it with their over-rate.

Du Plessis said that South Africa's reliance on seamers is a factor. He said that it's an unfortunate thing for them because generally they have a lot of seam bowlers in their attack.

But, Du Plessis added that it's not an excuse, insisting that one still has to get the overs done in time. He claimed that they talk about it a lot, adding that they have tried everything and they are still slow.