A foul-mouthed exchange between Jos Buttler and Vernon Philander was picked up on live TV during England’s tense victory over South Africa.
The stump microphone at Newlands Cricket Ground overheard the England wicket-keeper call his opponent a ‘f***ing kn*bhead’ as the tourists desperately searched for the final South African wickets.
Philander, who eventually fell to Ben Stokes, had proved stubborn at the crease and tempers began to flare as time ran out.
Buttler took exception to Philander refusing to get out of the way of a throw over the stumps as he looked to resume the match as quickly as possible.
The glovesman launched a furious verbal tirade at the South African, who appeared confused.
Buttler could be heard shouting ‘f***ing move’ before Sky Sports commentator Mike Atherton was forced to apologise to viewers moments later.
Tensions ran high throughout the Test – Kagiso Rabada gave Zak Crawley quite the send off on day three and Janneman Malan appeared vexed by James Anderson getting in his way between the wickets earlier on Tuesday.
However, it was England who eventually came out on top to level the series thanks to some heroics from Stokes.
The England talisman, who had taken a record five-catches in one innings and scored 119 runs over the course of the match, took three quickfire wickets in the final session to give the toursits a much-needed victory.
