Published: Jul 18, 2017, 08:47 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 18, 2017, 08:47 PM (IST)
We often come across a common phrase in cricket: “A captain is as good as the team.” There have been many debates in this regard. While some hail the skipper to be a step ahead due to his stature, some others are of a different opinion. For those who back this common phenomenon, Faf du Plessis certainly looks on a rampage to change their thinking.
South Africa were down and out in shambles after Lord’s defeat against England in the first of the four-Test series. They looked clueless and sloppy, and the intensity was clearly missing. But then, so was their regular skipper du Plessis. He was out of action to welcome his first child back home, and the team surely felt his absence.
Nonetheless, the tables turned drastically with his comeback. He was there in the balcony to witness South Africa’s meek surrender on the penultimate day. He was wearing a smile despite the 211-run defeat, but looked determined to change the script soon.
In a few days’ time South Africa humiliated England by 340 runs at Trent Bridge and levelled the series 1-1. Obviously it was a team effort with batsmen countering English seamers, bowlers stepping up and fielders hanging on to their catches (which wasn’t the case in the series opener). But, the hard yard was put in by their skipper. He inspired his troops to go the distance. Let us analyse du Plessis’ role in pulling things back for his side:
Drops senior pro:
“JP [Duminy] will be the first guy to say he knows he needs to score runs for this team and it’s no different for anyone else. He is desperate to do well as anyone in that position. You want to try and score runs every time you go out there. He knows at the end of the day that it’s about runs. He understands that if it has to come to a position where there is someone else that needs to be looked at … he will be the first to acknowledge [that],” du Plessis told ESPNCricinfo ahead of the second Test; thereby clearing indicating to drop Duminy following a string of poor scores.
Dares to do the unthinkable:
A captain’s approach is usually under scanner after a horrendous performance by the side. This was where du Plessis scored big. He dared to be different and remain aggressive. He chose to bat under cloudy conditions (Joe Root had wanted to bowl).
He backed his troops to bat cautiously and see off the first few sessions without succumbing to England pacers. This was a masterstroke by all means. It shows the mindset of an attacking leader. He read the pitch well and knew a modest total would be challenging with four frontline seamers at his disposal. Moreover, batting fourth was always going to be difficult. England, after all, had two spinners. He didn’t demand a lot, but wanted a respectable total on board to push for a result.
South Africa managed 335 in the first innings and du Plessis knew it was going to be a stiff ask for the hosts.
Quinton de Kock gets a deserving promotion:
De Kock became the second fastest to register a half-century at Lord’s (after Kapil Dev). His effortless innings propelled du Plessis to promote him up the order and fill the void created by Duminy. Not only did Faf ensure an attacking batsman early at the crease to take on the opposition, but he also solved the No. 4 woes in the absence of AB de Villiers.
[read-also]625573[/read-also]
De Kock did not disappoint. He was involved in a 113-run stand with Hashim Amla on the first day and smacked 68 off 81 balls (strike-rate 84). Known to be a free-flowing customer against pacers, he took Mark Wood and Ben Stokes to the cleaners. His strike rate was above 90 against the duo. He did not spare Liam Dawson either (striking him at 108). On the other hand, he played out James Anderson and Stuart Broad with caution.
“We all know that the way he plays is the way he [de Kock] plays, so we are not going to ask him to change that. He’s going to put pressure on the opposition and he’s a good enough cricketer to understand when to adapt his game to play certain situations, so he’ll learn a lot from this”, du Plessis told ESPNCricinfo about de Kock after the conclusion of the Test.
Smart bowling changes backed by aggressive fields:
Once the batsmen put up a decent total, the onus fell on the bowlers. Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel began the show by jolting England early. Barring Root, no English batsmen put up resistance of any sort. Du Plessis persisted with slips, gully, backward-point and deep fine-leg to keep the batsmen incessantly on their toes. He always made things happen from his end. Indeed, England did not concede the lead: South Africa ‘earned’ it.
Root and Garry Ballance were going at over 4 an over when du Plessis changed Philander’s end. This triggered the collapse from which England never recovered. Philander got rid of Ballance by rattling his stumps.
However, Root was still going strong and South Africa could not afford to let him play another big innings. Sensing this, du Plessis gave a long spell to Morkel, and the big man forced an edge at 78. With his dismissal, England’s chance of taking a lead was buried altogether. Du Plessis did the small things right as well. Inexperienced Duanne Olivier and Chris Morris were introduced simultaneously after the 11th over. The duo eased the pressure by conceding runs in their early spell. Realising his mistake, du Plessis ensured the pacers did not bowl in tandem. Whenever they came to bowl there was either Philander or Morkel at the other end. Unlike Root, Du Plessis did not over-rely on his pace battery: he used Keshav Maharaj judiciously and the spinner ended with 6 wickets in the match.
Triggers ‘slow death’ courtesy composed knock:
With a 130-run lead, South Africa had to consolidate and post a mammoth target. They did just that. Dean Elgar and Amla provided a strong platform with resilient fifties, and du Plessis put the final nail in the coffin. He made sure the lead surged to over 400 with a measured 63-run knock including 9 fours. Faf’s innings represented a clear strategy: to bat England out of contest. It was a calculative innings as he played out the main bowlers and capitalised against Wood, Dawson and Moeen Ali. He, in a way, triggered ‘slow death’ for the hosts by making them toil hard on the field.
One final onslaught:
Defending 474, South Africa were on top to win the Test. Nonetheless, they did not go overboard and did the basics right. They were beaming in confidence and du Plessis ensured the intensity remained on par. Once again he employed attacking fields and asked his bowlers to keep hitting the deck. Philander pitched 30 of his first 36 deliveries in line with the stumps. He was supported well by Morris who resorted to a brilliantly-executed yorker to send Root packing. The plan was to bowl short against Alastair Cook and it worked. Maharaj was handed the ball to outfox England’s middle-order, and he delivered.
The writing was on the wall. England crumbled for 133. South Africa mauled hosts by 340 runs at Trent Bridge.
Loved by his troops:
“He [du Plessis] lives for the team and he leads by example. He puts his body on the line and he doesn’t mind batting for three days to save a Test. When a guy leads from the front, a lot of guys will follow. Faf is solid and quite clear with his plans and speaks a very good language with the team … The message was clear from Faf: be aggressive and bowl fast. For me that cleared any doubt on what I needed to do”, Morris was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo after stumps on Day Two.
[read-also]625608[/read-also]
“He was the chosen one to lead this team and he’s done so well. Obviously with the bat as well, he’s a guy that averages high 40s and a guy that will lead from the front with the bat … As a team we’re energised to have our leader back. He has an ‘open doors’ policy, but one thing about Faf is he will challenge you in areas if you overstep or step out of line and that’s the sort of thing we spoke about this morning. We need to challenge each other on this tour to raise our levels and our intensity an extra five or ten per cent. Faf will make sure that he drives that from the front”, Morkel had said ahead of the Trent Bridge encounter.
This was not the first Test wherein du Plessis ruled the roost with his shrewd captaincy. He had done that it against Australia in Perth in 2016. As a result, South Africa had won back-to-back series Down Under, in Australia and New Zealand.
Now they have bounced back showing grit and character versus England, and will look to maintain momentum. If they manage to topple hosts and win the series, a major question will lie ahead of national selectors: With a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign under AB de Villiers, should he be replaced by his old mate in ODIs? De Villiers is a once-in-a-decade batsman and a decent leader. Nonetheless, even he collapsed under pressure in the World Cup 2015 semi-final.
Of the two, du Plessis is a notch higher at the helm. His policy is simple: be aggressive, carry a good body language and challenge yourself.
