Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis has been under scrutiny after his batting performance against England, but whether those comments are justified is another controversial topic. I find them a bit harsh, writes Khalid Mohidin.
Du Plessis’ charges lost the second Test against England at Newlands by 189 runs.
The Proteas skipper’s wicket on Day 5 was a massive turning point in the game. Not so much the wicket, but the manner in which he lost it.
The Proteas were on 164/3 with a hefty target of 438 to obtain.
Faf had done the hard yards having spent 79 minutes at the crease, facing 57 balls for his 19. He played what seemed to be an anchor role to aid Pieter Malan who looked settled at the crease as he moved closer to a second milestone.
Du Plessis decided in that moment to play an unnecessary cricket stroke – a hard sweep straight to square leg when his side needed him to survive.
“To sweep it in the middle of the two (square leg and midwicket) was a mental error,” he said.
“Generally, when you have that many guys around the bat, you try to manipulate the field a bit and get them to spread out, and then go about your business as normal again.”
It was clearly a “brain fart” just like the one of Dean Elgar, who described his own dismissal during the Proteas’ first innings as a big “brain fart”.
The concern is that these errors have been coming from our senior batsmen in the side.
De Kock too, after reaching his half-century, went after a slower ball outside off and lofted it high down the ground for a comfortable catch at mid-off.
“In that situation, all we needed was for me to drop anchor. I suppose the same with Quinny (De Kock),” Du Plessis continued.
“We were going really well there, and it felt like we were in control, so probably the same for him and to give them two wickets on a wicket that was still good was probably going to be the difference.”
Where the scrutiny of Du Plessis has come in, (reading the comments on Cricket Fanatics Magazine’s social media platforms), is that the skipper has been accused of being in terrible form with the bat. So I did my research.
Since the India Tour to South Africa in 2018 which started on 5 January 2018, the top 5 performing batsmen have been:
- Quinton de Kock: 1175 runs, 33.57 average, two 100s, eight 50s.
- Dean Elgar: 1134 runs, 33.35 average, two 100s, six 50s.
- Aiden Markram: 1044 runs, 31.63 average, two 100s, five 50s.
- Faf du Plessis: 980 runs, 29.69 average, two 100s, six 50s.
- Hashim Amla: 699 runs, 26.88 average, no 100s, six 50s.
All the Proteas batsmen have been in below-par form.
Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram, who all average above 30 have been the top performers, but the rest have all averaged in the 20s or below during this period.
Hence Director of Cricket Graeme Smith brought in his cavalry to sort out the issues.
The likes of Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis, Enoch Nkwe and Charl Langeveldt have had two Tests to work with the team. That is not enough time to pass fair judgement.
Despite the defeat, there have been improvements in the batting according to Du Plessis.
“If you look at a batting unit point of view from where, two months ago, we were very weak mentally in India and exploded quickly, today (Tuesday) we didn’t,” he said.
“It’s just about improving as a young Test team and making sure that you are getting better.
“Sometimes you will still lose while you are improving, and that was the case for me in the last two days.
“As a batting unit, we can take confidence from guys like Pieter Malan and the way he played and Rassie dropping anchor and doing what the team needs.
“There were some really good signs for us from a batting point of view in this Test match. Yes, there is still room for improvement, but I do feel that we are improving.”
After these comments, Du Plessis received more scrutiny on our platforms.
There have been statements calling for his head and asking the captaincy to be stripped from him.
Pretty extreme for a man who scored three half-centuries and a century in his last 16 matches.
During that embarrassing tour to India Faf was the most consistent and did manage to score two half-centuries, while the rest of the batters crumbled – apart from those tons from Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock.
So my questions to the public are as follows:
- Is the scrutiny of Faf du Plessis justified?
- Does three bad Test matches warrant a drop?
In my opinion, I think it’s a bit harsh to want to axe Du Plessis.
Considering that he had to shoulder the responsibility of much more than just cricket in the last two years, it’s unfair to call for Faf’s head in only his second Test of the new regime.
Everyone goes through a bad patch of form.
Once again, Du Plessis is not only needed in this side for his cricketing ability, his leadership qualities and the respect he has in the dressing room can not be bought.
He plays a pivotal rule in holding the Proteas dressing room together.
Don’t get me wrong, Du Plessis needs to up his game and put in performances in the last two Tests if the Proteas want to compete.
And if you watch his press conference after the Test, you will see that he certainly knows it too.
Faf du Plessis full press conference:
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