Faf du Plessis: the captain steering the Proteas ship

Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis has entered the new year with one eye on trying to clinch a series win over Pakistan but also knowing that his entire captaincy reign could be judged by what happens during the six weeks of the World Cup between May and July this year.

While regaining the number one ranking in Tests is clearly one of Du Plessis’ priorities, the World Cup remains the Holy Grail for the Proteas and it is a tournament in which their levels of panic have suggested nuclear explosions in the brain.

So it is not surprising that “composure” has been one of Du Plessis’ watchwords in recent times; that priceless quality that shrugs off pressure and enables talent, skill and experience to get the job done.

“We want to be composed no matter what, when the storm is there we want to know that our cricket is doing the talking,” Du Plessis said this week ahead of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands.

The 34-year-old was speaking in the context of how difficult conditions have been for batsmen in the Test series, and perhaps he and coach Ottis Gibson have gone for a strategy of using pitches that are definitely in favour of the bowlers in order to toughen up the batsmen for testing chases in England later this year.

Whether that is the case or not, it is clear Du Plessis has a plan for the World Cup. The fact that it seems well thought out and coherent is maybe thanks to how lucid Du Plessis is in spelling out what is on his mind.

“We’re continuously thinking about decisions that will impact the World Cup, but it’s also important to stay in the present. The World Cup is still too far out, but it is still in our minds,” he said in trying to explain getting the balance right between short-term and long-term thinking.

The father of one is not the first to espouse the benefits of unifying the team as a “family”, but under Du Plessis’ leadership there certainly seems to be a tight bond between the Proteas players. In an industry in which a player’s worth is judged so much on stats and figures, he seems to have succeeded in getting the batsmen to agree to sacrificing their personal averages in order for the pacemen to thrive on bowler-friendly pitches and give the team the best chance of success. As one of the batsmen, it is a strategy that directly impacts on his own individual success.

“In a perfect world everyone would be scoring hundreds but our success rate at home has been good with this approach. So it’s tougher at home for our batsmen and we’ve come up against good seam attacks recently in India, Australia and now Pakistan. So the averages are dropping a bit, but myself and the coach are happy with that as long as we keep winning.

“I also want to score hundreds and average 50. But there’s a good mindset in the changerooom, it’s about fronting up to a tough challenge, especially for the openers, and the guys are okay with that. It’s tough for young guys trying to make their way in Test cricket. But, like the captain, they just want to win – and then everyone stays in the team,” Du Plessis explained.

We do not know yet if Du Plessis is going to stay in the Proteas outfit after the World Cup, although the feeling is that he will soldier on if his troublesome back allows him to keep playing.

With AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel already having called time on their Proteas careers and Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn also nearing the end of the road, Du Plessis might not want to contribute further to such a mass exodus. Besides, he came to international cricket relatively late, in January 2011, whereas his schoolmate De Villiers was playing for the Proteas in 2004 already, as were Steyn and Amla. Morkel made his international debut in 2006.

Winning the World Cup might convince Du Plessis to call it a day, but that number one Test ranking is clearly something he also desires.

“When I started as captain we were number seven and I took it as a personal challenge to get back on top. In home conditions we’ve been pretty dominant, but that’s just one aspect of getting to number one, and we have to get back to travelling well, while making sure we keep our home record very strong,” Du Plessis said.

In the 12 months after the World Cup, South Africa are due to tour India twice as well as hosting England and South Africa.

Du Plessis, ever the long-term thinker, may well be convinced of the merits of staying in the game a little longer in order to make the handover to the next captain as smooth and easy as possible.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.