South Africa vs Australia 2018: 5 positives for the Proteas

Faf du Plessis’s resilient captaincy

Leading from the front- Faf Du Plessis

It’s never easy for a captain to motivate his troops when the chips are down, especially when the opposing team’s captain and vice-captain were involved in a disgraceful incident such as the ball-tampering scandal.

Faf du Plessis had to ensure that the Proteas delivered their best against Australia despite the scandals and many people writing off the series even before it finished. Full credit should go to Faf for his resilient captaincy.

Before the scandal shook world cricket in Cape Town, Australia thumped South Africa in Durban and earlier India humbled them in the third Test match at Johannesburg. There was pressure on Faf Du Plessis to deliver as a captain and batsman.

He was able to galvanize his troops and what was excellent to watch was the way in which the Proteas fought back after a disappointing loss in the Durban Test match. The team looked ready for battle and were standing with each other and supporting each other superbly.

It was a bizarre, crazy yet competitive Test series which ended with Faf Du Plessis scoring a brilliant 120 in the last innings of the Test series. That hundred would end any speculations with regards to his quality as a batsman.

With Morne Morkel unlikely to bowl too much and with a weary Vernon Philander and KG Rabada nursing a sore back, Faf Du Plessis didn’t declare the innings despite having amassed a lead of over 500 runs in the fourth Test.

But that wasn’t a defensive move, it was a smart decision taken by the captain which ensured the bowlers got more time to recover fully. And the move to declare later than expected paid full dividends when Vernon Philander ran through the Aussie batting line up and handing the hosts an emphatic 492 run victory to win the Test series 3-1.