Faf du Plessis gives the Proteas a dose of reality

Despite taking 20 Bangladeshi wickets in a little over three sessions, an inexperienced Proteas bowling attack shouldn’t be patting itself on the back too much.

Captain Faf du Plessis administered this dose of reality after South Africa thrashed their visitors by an innings and 254 runs in the second Test yesterday here at the Mangaung Oval.

And he has a point.

A rampant Kagiso Rabada claimed a third ten-wicket haul in Tests – he finished with figures of 5/33 and 5/30 respectively – to illustrate his class but the rest of his teammates profited more from Bangladesh’s pitiful resistance than their own doing.

There were certainly encouraging moments, especially from an aggressive Duanne Olivier and Andile Phehlukwayo, though it’s probably better not to get carried away.

In fact, Du Plessis isn’t afraid to admit there’s still a gulf in class between the injured trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander and the rest.

“I’ve said it before and I still think it’s fair to say that there’s still a big difference between our top four seamers and the rest,” he said.

“Their quality is world class. They’re the best-in-the-world kind of bowlers. If we’re going to judge the attack that played in this game against them, there will be a gap and rightly so.”

That doesn’t mean Du Plessis isn’t optimistic about the depth the Proteas have started to cultivate, especially in this series.

“For me, it’s important how we can make those guys get better. We need to do it for when the time comes when we have to maybe use two to three of the (backup) bowlers,” he said.

“The guys that played here will be looked at in the future. It’s important for them to see that there’s still some work to do but they do possess the quality. We’ve seen already they learn quickly and step up.”

Following the top order’s struggles in England, the Proteas will be really happy with the way the batsmen filled their boots.

“I don’t think we could’ve done anything better,” said Du Plessis.