"Our chairman, David Peever, who is in Cape Town, has taken the matter up directly with relevant CSA officials, including president Chris Nenzani. We acknowledge that CSA is taking steps to ensure incidents like those yesterday are not repeated and we have encouraged the strongest possible action in response to such behaviour. "People who behave in such a manner should not be welcome at cricket grounds anywhere in the world, and together with the ICC and all member countries, we strongly endorse a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour by fans.” Sutherland's input came after several former South African players claimed Australian spectators were just as bad. “Correct Darren! Fully agree,” ex-Proteas wicketkeeper Mark Boucher said on Twitter in response to coach Darren Lehmann's branding of the abuse as "disgraceful". “But ... start cleaning up your own country first! The personal, racial abuse I’ve witnessed in Aus was ridiculous. U guys don’t live in a glass house! Why the fuss all of a sudden? Seems fine when the shoe is on the other foot.”

Former Proteas captain Graeme Smith said he did not “condone any of it, but blimey I have never seen an Aussie team whinge and whine like this”. Herschelle Gibbs, meanwhile, asked: "would u people like some tissues maybe." South African fast bowler Morne Morkel had also claimed he had been on the end of "the same sort of abuse" when playing at the MCG. The Australian Cricketers Association, meanwhile, joined in the wrangle on Saturday, urging CSA to show "zero tolerance". ACA chief Alistair Nicholson is at the Test. "We’ve already seen some South African cricket officials set an appalling standard. Now it seems members of the crowd are following their lead," an ACA spokesman said.

"Abuse of family and friends is not on. Simple as that. And there has to be zero tolerance. It's the duty of officials to set, maintain and monitor high standards. "And it’s a shame that these incidents are detracting from a compelling test series. It's clear Cricket South Africa have work ahead of them. And Cricket Australia is right to demand this work be done." CSA released a statement through their acting chief executive, Thabang Moroe. "Cricket South Africa and the players appreciate the fans' passionate support displayed at all our games. However the events that transpired today were not tolerable and something that we don't want to see at any of our Test matches," he said. "We have since taken it upon ourselves to beef up our security personnel to ensure that players from both sides don't have to endure such unfortunate behaviour. Both CSA and the players encourage supporters to continue rooting for their teams and also to behave in a decorous manner that will allow this Test series to be played in the true spirit of the game."

Loading CSA marketing manager Clive Eksteen and communications manager Altaaf Kazi have been suspended by the organisation while an internal probe takes place into their conduct during the second Test in Port Elizabeth. The pair posed with men wearing Sonny Bill Williams masks, worn to taunt Warner and his wife Candice, and had overturned a decision by security to confiscate the masks at the turnstiles. An angry Lehmann confirmed after the second day of play at Newlands that the man who abused Warner had sprayed the vice-captain with a "personal" and "poor" verbal barrage. It came three weeks after Quinton de Kock had set Warner off at Kingsmead by making a derogatory comment about his wife. While no South African player has gone down that path again, the same can't be said for members of the crowd. In Cape Town, fans have sung disparaging songs and worn vulgar T-shirts about Warner's wife and uttered unsavoury remarks to other players using the names of their wives and partners. The Proteas have had to endure verbal abuse when touring Australia. A Tasmanian man was banned by Cricket Australia for three years for a racist graffiti incident targeting Hashim Amla during the Hobart Test in 2016, while Ashwell Prince, Makhaya Ntini, Garnett Kruger and even Shaun Pollock have been racially abused.