“We should be praying he doesn’t pull the plug after the England series.” - an insider hopes Faf du Plessis isn’t about to retire.
TELFORD VICE in Cape Town
ONLY Graeme Smith and Hansie Cronjé have captained South Africa in more men’s Tests than Faf du Plessis, and the wear and tear is starting to show.
Smith, now a television commentator, is three years older than Du Plessis. But, in cutaway shots during the series in India, he looked the younger of the two as events lurched from calamity to catastrophe to car crash.
“It’s been the toughest part of my captaincy journey; not even captaining, playing,” Du Plessis admitted to reporters in Johannesburg on Friday.
If the series was a bad movie, South Africa were the heavies in the cheap leather jackets who keep getting shot in the opening scene.
Smith led South Africa 108 times and Cronjé 53. Du Plessis has done the job in 32 Tests. How many more might he have left in a tank that could have been hit by a stray bullet in that bad movie?
“The easiest thing would be to run away,” Du Plessis said. “As a leader of the team it’s important that you set the example that you are here to fight.
“Even when it’s the toughest time and even when everyone else sees no light, you still fight for that light.”
He is raging hard. But the light is dying. Words like “process” and “transition” have seeped into his explanations for why things have gone so wrong. For some, those sound like excuses and are a long way from a plan to improve.
Du Plessis has been every inch what a captain should be; a man of grit and gumption who is eminently followable. But is he still the best choice to lead South Africa against an England team eager to emulate their one-day success?
We’re likely to find when the series starts in Centurion on Boxing Day because all indications are Du Plessis will still be in charge, even if that seems a duty more than a decision.
“The easiest thing for me, even after the World Cup, would have been to say I am going to press the eject button and I am going to go.
“But it’s not where I am at that the moment. I still feel that it’s important for me to fight for this team.
“It’s not about me. It’s about me serving the Proteas team. So as long as that fire is still burning strong inside me I will try and continue for as long as possible.”
Would a clean break for the England series be a better approach? It’s not as if South Africa’s performances could get worse. Or would that be a fatal shock to the system of a team already on life support?
Herschelle Gibbs is never afraid of treading boldly, but even he demurred in the face of the suggestion that a change of leadership now was a good idea: “Nobody deserves to be captain or is making a claim for it with their performances.
“All of the players are fighting for a place, except the usual candidates.
“So I’d say make a decision on the captaincy after the England series.”
If not Du Plessis, who? Answering that question isn’t helped by the fact that he is, notwithstanding Quinton de Kock’s elevation for the T20 series in India, South Africa’s all-format skipper.
Sources inside the relevant structures have told the Sunday Times that Temba Bavuma is likely South Africa’s next Test captain, that Aiden Markram is being lined up to take over the one-day reins and is also part of the Test debate, and that De Kock is the first choice as T20 captain.
Rassie van der Dussen has an outsider’s chance of being tapped in one of the white-ball formats and Kagiso Rabada’s ability to “form a rapport with guys — when he talks, people listen” could see him formally elevated to a vice-captaincy.
But, for now, Du Plessis isn’t going anywhere.
“We should be praying he doesn’t pull the plug after the England series,” an insider said. “We need him more than ever.”
First published by the Sunday Times.
I'm afraid that the test match leadership question can only be answered after the England series. For starters Bavuma and de Bruyn should be sent back to the franchise system to regain their spots so the thing about Bavuma being captain doesn't make any sense. I think Faf should retire from tests after the England series irrespective of the result because he is carrying too much of a burden. If Markram has an outstanding series he should take over the reigns for the West Indies tour in July and if he doesn't then maybe Elgar or van der Dussen for a temporary role. The ODI team needs to be built from scratch without Faf. Rassie again can be the temporary captain for an year and we can only hope that Markram finds his feet in ODIs to take over the reigns. KG or Quinny should only be considered for vice captaincy because their workloads need to be managed. As for T20s it doesn't really matter because there are two consecutive World Cups for that.