Faf: We didn’t have enough superstars

Faf du Plessis revealed that the Proteas never had enough superstars available throughout the tournament to compete at the World Cup, writes Khalid Mohidin.

The Proteas captain was handed the highest honour in South African Cricket at the CSA Awards on Saturday night when he picked up the Player of the Year accolade.

It was his first time winning the award and despite a successful year for him, personally, the Proteas as a team suffered their worst World Cup campaign in history.

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Fanatics Magazine, Du Plessis revealed the reasons behind the Proteas’ underwhelming performances.

“We went with high expectations as a team. We went there to win the World Cup and we definitely thought we were a top-four team and that we could get to the semi-final … then anything could happen. The best team showed that they were there… England is a powerhouse,” said Du Plessis.

“Learnings [from the World Cup], batsmen never scored enough runs and we didn’t have enough superstars in the tournament. Every team had two or three stand-out superstars throughout the tournament and we did not have that.

“You also need a bit of luck, and the injuries to Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi made it harder for us. They have been the backbone of our bowling attack with KG [Kagiso Rabada] the last year and we always had a tremendous bowling attack.

“Also Anrich Nortje… he was going to be our surprise package. But we still needed to perform. We a nation of quality cricketers so you should still compete, and we didn’t do that for long enough in the World Cup.”

There is an expectation that a full backroom staff clear out is required to take the Proteas forward and when asked about the future of the side, Du Plessis remained tightlipped about the matter.

“At the moment it’s unknown territory. As we stand here we not sure what’s going to happen with the coaching staff, so hopefully that will clear up over the next couple of days or weeks because there’s a series coming soon. A massive series away in India,” he explained.

“So we need to make sure we prepare well and get the right guys on the bus (plane) to go there. It’s going to be a really tough tour. There’s probably going to be more sand on the pitch than on Clifton beach, but we have to deal with it.”

The Proteas have two tough assignments to kick off their new season – a series away to India and a home series against England.