5 unforgettable incidents from South Africa- Australia Test matches

When two fiercely competitive sides battle it out for top honours, tempers are expected to fly.

However, in the ongoing Test series between South Africa and Australia, the hostility between the two sides has certainly gone up by a few notches, overshadowing some brilliant individual performances both with bat and ball.

However, series marred by controversies are not new in a contest involving both these sides and we, here look at five instances which remain etched in public memory.

#5 When Graeme Smith was threatened to be killed by Brett Lee

During Australia's tour to South Africa in 2002, Graeme Smith, who at the time was taking baby steps into international cricket, was targetted verbally by several Australian players as he came out to the middle to bat.

Brett Lee, Smith later said, had threatened to kill him. Matthew Hayden told him he wasn't good enough and questioned how he was going to tackle the spin of Shane Warne.

It was a baptism by fire for a young Smith, who later in his career created a legacy for himself as well as South African cricket, by taming the Aussies in their own den, not once but twice in two consecutive series.

#4 Faf du Plessis and the ball tampering fiasco

du Plessis's side may have won the series, but this incident made all the news

South Africa's third straight Test series win in Australia in 2016 was overshadowed by the incident of the visiting captain Faf du Plessis indulging in ball tampering in the second Test of that series at Hobart after he was found guilty of applying saliva to the ball.

du Plessis was fined 100% of his match fee and awarded three demerit points for his actions.

He appealed against the verdict, but the ICC stuck by its decision to dock the Protean skipper.

#3 When Dale Steyn was called a 'cheat'

Call Dale Steyn what you want, but not a cheat

Dale Steyn is regarded not just as one of the best fast bowlers to have walked Planet Earth, but one of the fairest blokes to have played the game.

However, tempers boiled over on Australia's tour to South Africa in 2014, when the then visiting captain Michael Clarke allegedly called the South African fast bowler a 'cheat' in the third Test of the series at Cape Town.

There is no concrete evidence that Steyn was labelled that by Clarke, but Protean commentator Neil Manthorp did reveal that was possibly the case in a later interview with the Supersport website.

Post the conclusion of the game, one which Australia won, both players were seen shaking hands and the former stopped for an additional second and was overheard to have said 'sorry' to the Protean quick.

The latter gave the former a nod and a pat before moving on in the line.

#2 David Warner-Quinton de Kock bust-up at Durban

Warner and de Kock: not exactly best friends

The incident that set the scene for the remainder of the series, Australian opener David Warner and South African wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock were involved in a dressing room corridor ruckus that was caught on camera at Durban.

The latter had allegedly dished out certain crass words about the former's wife and an agitated Warner let loose on hearing those words, dishing out a barrage on the wicket-keeper as the players made their way into the respective dressing rooms at Kingsmead.

Warner was later fined 75% of his match fee, along with being docked three demerit points for his actions.

#1 Cameron Bancroft caught red-handed for ball tampering

Bancroft's image lies in tatters at the moment

The career of Australian opener Cameron Bancroft took a massive nosedive on Saturday, when he was caught on camera applying a yellow item later revealed as granules from the pitch, to the ball, before putting a black paper down the front of his trousers during the third day of the third Test at Cape Town.

The right-hander later said that he sensed an opportunity to tamper with the condition of the ball , but insisted he had not altered anything in the ball.

Shockingly, Australian skipper, Steve Smith admitted that the leadership group within the side had played a role in devising such a plan.