South Africa insist Quinton de Kock only acted on provocation in the Durban stairwell dispute, even though he has been found guilty of breaching the ICC's code of conduct.

De Kock did not contest the charge at a hearing on Wednesday evening, though he aimed to lessen the sanction that applies to a Level 1 offence. Although he was unsuccessful in the endeavour and admitted he had said "something" to Warner, the South Africa wicketkeeper maintained he was not the instigator.

CCTV footage of the passageway leading to the dressing rooms showed David Warner being physically restrained and shouting at de Kock, who did not respond. Warner was charged with a Level 2 offence on Tuesday evening, and fined 75% of his match fee. Though he has accepted those sanctions, Australia claim Warner was responding to a jibe from de Kock, and they say it was "personal."

South Africa, however, have denied de Kock provoked Warner in any way. "We are appealing Level 1 because we think Quinny didn't do anything," the head coach Ottis Gibson said. "Quinny wasn't aggressive. You saw some footage, and the footage showed Quinny walking up the stairs and somebody else being restrained, and then Quinny gets a Level 1. That doesn't seem fair."

Gibson would not comment on whether de Kock was entirely silent, and neither would several team sources, only for the man himself to admitt he had answered back.

"Quinny would not have said anything had something not been said to him in the first place. But I wasn't out there. Faf was there. Faf probably knows what was said," Gibson said. "But there's one guy walking up the stairs going back to his dressing room, there's another guy having to be restrained. If I am walking, trying to get back to my dressing room and somebody is being restrained, how can you fine me for something?"

Asked if de Kock said anything about Warner's wife, which is what Australia are alleging, Gibson chose to focus on the undefined line and called for clarity. "I wasn't there. I can't categorically speak for another person. There's this thing and I have seen it recently now about the line. They are saying they didn't cross the line, but where is the line, who sets the line, where did the line come from? When you are saying you didn't cross the line but we didn't cross the line, you went very close to the line… whose line is it?"