‘I feel fitter than ever’: Hard work pays off for fabulous Faf

Faf du Plessis put his fabulous 199 against Sri Lanka on the third day of the first Test against Sri Lanka down to his single-minded focus on his fitness, the one area he said he could control during Lockdown.

While Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur was blaming Covid for the unprecedented glut of injuries in his team, Du Plessis seemed to have little sympathy for their plight, saying he had used Lockdown wisely.

“Obviously Covid has made things more intense as far as injuries are concerned, but everyone has had enough time to make sure they are physically fit enough for Test cricket. I did a lot of work during Lockdown, it meant I had a good off-season and, for me personally, I went through the process in the last six months of making sure I was in the best position possible to play really well.

“The one thing I could control was how fit I was and that work is really working for me now and at 36 I feel fitter now than I have ever been before. I’m moving better now than when I was 23 or 24. People have been saying I’m at the end of my career, but it all depends on how good your body is, how fit you are – that is much more important than your age,” Du Plessis said after his career-best masterpiece that lasted nearly seven hours.

The former captain acknowledged his disappointment at getting out one short of his maiden double century, being caught at a wide mid-on off debutant leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, and said milestones were important for the team and not just the individual player.

“I thought I would just pop it over his head when the field was brought up like they always do when someone is on 99, but maybe I should have tried to hit it straighter because it was the googly. It’s a shot I play really well, just the execution wasn’t so good this time. I was pretty tired by then too and probably not in the greatest position to try and hit a six.
“You don’t think too much about making 200 but it does start when you get past a hundred because big hundreds are what the team strives for. Those are the match-winning knocks and if you get in, you want to make sure that you cash in big time. I felt really good at the crease and from a timing and statement point of view it was great to show those who have doubted my ability recently that nothing has changed,” Du Plessis said.

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