Faf du Plessis: Leading from the front

It was not because he was speaking from close to the extremity of the continent, but Faf du Plessis just oozed what the Americans would call “southern charm” as he addressed the hordes of media gathered at Newlands in Cape Town on the eve of the first Test between South Africa and India.

Now the undisputed captain of the Proteas in all three formats, the 33-year-old is extremely comfortable with a responsibility that has proven onerous for some skippers and is as much of a natural when it comes to handling the public relations side of his job as he is with the on-field tasks of leading a team and strategising against the opposition.

That the mantle fits comfortably is shown by how effortlessly Du Plessis is able to handle all manner of questions – from the vague and meandering to the ones with thinly disguised pitfalls – with equanimity, some real thought and often a pleasant dollop of humour.

Du Plessis captained South Africa for the first time in a Test in August 2016 in Durban, when the match was abandoned after only four sessions of play due to a wet outfield, and he impressed with the way he tackled what seemed a hasty decision by the umpires in a forthright manner.

He has continued to show the ability to speak out over cricket’s often myopic administration in measured fashion, and the fact that his teammates are fully behind him was borne out by the way they responded to the threat of a ban the International Cricket Council stupidly wanted to impose on him during “Mintgate” in December 2016.

Of course, the most important area that Du Plessis will be judged on is his ability to score runs for South Africa, and he has averaged over 54 in the last two calendar years; that the captaincy thoroughly agrees with him is borne out by his average of 57.85 in his 16 Tests as skipper and just 41.02 when he was merely one of the troops.

A percentage of the hopefully huge quantity of runs that AB de Villiers scores this summer can also be credited to Du Plessis because it is known that his wise counsel also encouraged his close friend since schooldays to return to the Test fold.

His match-saving centuries in Adelaide in 2012 and against India at the Wanderers in 2013 are part of cricketing lore and there is no doubting Du Plessis’ desire to dunk both those great rivals over the next three months.

“I’m extremely hungry again, the batting is feeling good and we’re up against two very strong teams in big series. The next two to three months are going to be very exciting and this team is still maturing. On paper, with the names we have available, we can field a very strong team,” the national captain said in Cape Town.

“I like to look at this as a new era, we don’t want to just get back to number one, we want to stay there. “If our attack can stay injury free, then we can have a really good summer because we have a very good seam attack.

“It’s probably the last time all of us senior players will play together against these teams as well.” The Pretoria-born and educated batsman is returning from an enforced break from the game after he suffered back spasms in the third ODI against Bangladesh in East London in October and subsequently decided to also have a troublesome shoulder operated on.

“The back and shoulder have been frustrating at times and it’s all come right a bit slower than I had hoped – it’s taken about 11 weeks – but I just feel ready now. The time at home was nice and it’s good that I did not miss that much cricket for South Africa,” said Du Plessis.

That is a sentiment that will be echoed by an extremely grateful South African cricket-loving public. Du Plessis is an inspirational figure who has become integral to the success of the Proteas and will be an especially important figure in the tough challenges that lie ahead over the next three months.

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