Gom february 14' issue 04 faf du plessis

faf du plessis No Guts No Glory

no guts no glory

FAF DU PLESSIS Australia’s cricketers are known for their ability to sledge opposition batsmen during international games, trying to intimidate them to make mistakes.

Words by Wilhelm de Swardt | Photos: Gallo Images

H

owever, of one thing there can be no doubt. When Faf du Plessis walks out to bat in the first test at SuperSport Park in Centurion, Michael Clarke, the Aussie captain, will know who he is.

The former pupil of Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) smiles when he thinks back to his first encounter with Clarke and the Aussies. It happened in November 2012, during his test debut at the Adelaide Oval. When he came out to bat, Clarke asked a teammate who this Du Plessis was. “Is he even listed on Cricinfo.com,” Clarke wanted to know.

With one of the gutsiest performances ever seen in test cricket, Du Plessis not only managed to rescue the Proteas from the jaws of defeat, but he also made quite certain that Clarke will forever remember who Francois du Plessis is.

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Game On Magazine, February: Issue 04, 2014

Cricket

Du Plessis batted for seven hours and faced 376 balls for his unbeaten 110.

He scattered his 14 boundaries into a gritty defensive knock to ensure that the test was drawn. In the first innings he scored an impressive 78 runs.

In a ‘delicate’ finishing touch, Du Plessis walked up to Clarke after the test was completed and introduced himself properly by saying: “Hi. I’m Faf.”

Cricinfo statistics Full name: Francois du Plessis Born: July 13, 1984, Pretoria Current age: 29 years Major teams: South Africa, Chennai Super Kings, Lancashire, Northerns, South Africa A, South Africa Under-19s, Titans Playing role: All-rounder Batting style: Right-hand bat Bowling style: Legbreak Height: 1,80 m Education: Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, Pretoria Game On Magazine, February: Issue 04, 2014

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faf du plessis No Guts No Glory

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Game On Magazine, February: Issue 04, 2014

ATHLETE PROFILE FEATURE: Cricket

According to Du Plessis he will always treasure his first test century.

South Africa’s upcoming clash with the Aussies will undoubtedly be one of the most thrilling contests in test cricket this year.

Having won eight tests during the 2012/2013 season and losing only one, South Africa is currently the top-ranked team in test cricket. In comparison, the Aussies have been on a roller coaster ride during the same season, winning eight tests and losing eight.

However, they are on an absolute high at the moment after demolishing England 5-0 in the recent Ashes series, as well as winning the one-day series (50 overs) 4-1.

Du Plessis is not overly worried about playing against the Aussies.

“It stands to reason that the Aussies will, as always, be supremely confident about beating us. But don’t forget that we have been the most consistent team during the past few years. That is why we are ranked number one.”

In the build-up to the test series, one of the main points of discussion was whether Du Plessis should bat at number four now that Jacques Kallis has retired.

“It will be difficult for AB (De Villiers) to bat at four and keep wicket as well and I think JP (Duminy) feels more comfortable when batting at six,” Du Plessis explained. “So it stands to reason that I should bat at four. It will be a natural progression for my test career. You start off batting lower down the order, but as you gain more confidence you move up the order. But, having said this, I will bat wherever I am needed.”

During the recent test series against India, Du Plessis (134) and De Villiers (103) shared a 5th wicket partnership of 205. It was a world record for a 5th wicket stand in the 4th innings of a Test match.

Grade 8 and together they moved up the ranks, Northerns Under-15, Northerns Under-17, Northerns Under-19 and South Africa Under-19.

“We had an awesome team when we played for Affies.

When we were in Grade 11 and Grade 12 our team was ranked as the best high school team in the country,” Du Plessis

reminisces.

This was not the first time that Du Plessis and De Villiers were involved in a heroic stand on a cricket pitch.

Their cricket careers have been entwined since when they were 13 years old. They both started off playing for the first cricket team of Affies when they were still in

“We lost only one game, against King Edward High School. That game still haunts AB. King Edward needed two runs from the last ball.

The batsman played the ball up into the air and AB ran back to try and catch it, but he dropped the ball and we lost. AB remembers the incident as if it happened yesterday.”

known to make mistakes at crucial times.

match-winning innings of 69 from 47 balls.”

“It happens every week. It’s part and parcel of playing cricket.

Remember how England recently lost a limited-overs game against Australia who were at 244/9 and still needed 57 runs to win? England was simply blown apart by James Faulkner who hit five sixes (all of them off Ben Stokes) in a superb

“But I am realistic. I know that during the T20 World Cup there will be speculation about when we will start to choke right from the moment we start playing our first game. It will definitely put more pressure on us and will be like an extra weapon in the arsenal of our rivals.”

FAF ON CHOKING Du Plessis will be captaining the Proteas when they compete in the ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh (16 March to 6 April).

Because of the Proteas’ dismal record when it comes to playing World Cup Tournaments, they were dubbed ‘chokers’ by the media.

However, Du Plessis reckons that the Proteas are not the only international cricket team who are

“As captain, I hope that I will be able to help my team and myself to remain calm and not make silly mistakes when it comes to the crunch.”

Game On Magazine, February: Issue 04, 2014

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faf du plessis No Guts No Glory

FAF’s ADVICE TO YOUNGSTERS

FAF ON BEING THE PROTEAS STYLIST

“Any young player who hopes to make a career by playing cricket should be prepared to work very hard and to be patient. There are definitely no quick fix solutions for success in international cricket.”

Many of the Proteas players will tell you that when they need some tips about what to wear when, they ask Faf for advice.

Apparently he is the team’s ‘Glam Guru’.

“You start off by playing school cricket and go on to play club cricket. If you are lucky you will get the opportunity to play provincial cricket and from then on it will depend on what you make of your opportunities.”

Du Plessis just laughed when asked about it. “I am comfortable with being trendy and I am not ashamed to admit that I always try to keep abreast with the latest fashions. In the beginning Graeme Smith joked about my combover hairstyle, but now he has a big comb-over hairstyle himself!”

“AB was an exception. He had the opportunity to play for South Africa as a youngster and he made the most of it.”

Has he given some of his teammates fashion tips?

“I have certainly spoken to some of them about the way they dress. I have also taken Ryan Mclaren, Dean Elgar and JP Duminy to go shopping, but I don’t come cheaply,” Du Plessis grins mischievously. “If you want me to help you dress properly you must be prepared to spend some serious money.”

“The rest of us have to take the ’long haul’. I only really began to understand the intricacies of being an international batsman when I was 26. Spin bowlers reach their peak when they are nearing their thirties.”

Batting and fielding averages Mat Tests ODI’s T20’s First-class List A Twenty20

Inns

NO

Runs

HS

Ave

BF

SR

100

50

4s

6s

Ct

St

11

16

3

782

137

60.15

1845 42.38

3

2

95

3

7

0

47

45

5

1102

72

27.55

1319

83.54

0

7

97

13

27

0

15

15

3

426

85

35.50

357

119.32

0

4

38

11

4

0

89

143

15

5187

176

40.52

11

31

82

0

163

150

27

4945

120*

40.20

5545

89.17

9

27

90

0

94

86

10

1924

85

25.31

1608 119.65

0

12

27

0

164

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Bowling averages Mat Tests ODI’s T20’s First-class List A Twenty20

54

Inns

Balls Runs Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

SR

4w

5w

10

11

5

78

69

0

-

-

-

5.30

-

0

0

0

47

9

150

142

2

1/8

1/8

71.00

5.68

75.0

0

0

0

15

2

-

89 163 94

52

8

3

0

-

2558

1477

41

4/39

2196

1983

54

4/47

4/47

790

917

50

5/19

5/19

Game On Magazine, February: Issue 04, 2014

-

2.25

-

0

0

0

36.02

3.46

62.3

3

0

0

36.72

5.41

40.6

1

0

0

18.34

6.96

15.8

1

2

0

Cricket

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