After the Proteas suffered an innings and 53-run loss to England during the third Test at St George’s Park, Faf du Plessis reminded South Africa why he took on the captaincy role and why he hasn’t stepped away from the hot seat.

At the moment in South African Sport, the man with the toughest job is by far the captain of the Proteas Cricket team.

Having to lead an inexperienced team is hard, but to do it when you’re out of touch seems absolutely draining and it puts a lot of pressure on you as a player and a leader.

You don’t need special eyewear to see that Faf has aged a lot since taking the Test captaincy role in December 2016. The grey hair is apparent, the fatigue of leading a talented group of players who’re yet to live up to expectations is something that you quickly pick up from his voice very easily.

His body language on and off the field, his word selection during interviews gives it away that this rough patch is getting to him mentally. But a man with a big “why” for what he’s doing is always the last man to give up.

“I’m not a robot, so you do try to find ways to make sure that you are as strong as possible. It’s a character builder.” Faf replied to a question about the pressure on him at the moment.

“You try and make sure that you learn as much about it yourself even in the toughest of times so that you can be strong for someone else.

“You might go through it yourself but someone else might see something through you that they can learn from in the future.”

To be honest, it makes sense to me why he is still captain. He’s the most experienced player in the squad and in my opinion, he’s the only one who can handle the pressure of being captain of the Proteas.

“We going through the transition period. I think it’ll just make it worse if I just say I’m out.”

READ: Faf du Plessis: Wanderers Test could be my last at home

I can’t help but wonder who will be able to take on the role should Faf step down after the West Indies tour. Who’s next?

Is it Temba? Temba succumbed to pressure in India, will he be able to handle Test captaincy?

Is it Quinton de Kock? Quinny is playing unbelievably well at the moment, will captaincy suit him? Will he still play freely and score runs the way he’s been scoring the past year and a half?