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Faf du Plessis obtained his highest score in the test (Gallo Images)
- The resurgence of Faf du Plessis internationally is another example of how the South African sports public dismisses experienced players too quickly.
- The 36-year-old stalwart looks fit and hungry and is clearly adding value to the national cause again.
- Importantly, Du Plessis may break a recent trend that SA’s best hitters may be retiring too soon and give the tarnished image of local cricket a boost.
The South African sports fraternity, in general, remains decidedly cool to its older players.
Schalk Brits’ swan song last year, which was rewarded with a World Cup winner’s medal, made fickle fans a bit more receptive to the courage of veterans.
We seemed to be back to square one at the beginning of the year when Jannie du Plessis, 38, and Willem Alberts, 36, battled to justify their inclusion in Super Rugby for the Lions, but eight months later they have played important roles. in putting his side squarely in the Currie Cup contest.
When Faf du Plessis achieved a career-best 199 in the first round between the Proteas and Sri Lanka, a similar situation occurred for the national team.
Ask some picky cricket fans and you will surely find that some of them were quite surprised to see the 36-year-old stalwart’s name on the test team.
Call it the AB effect, we’ve been almost cynically conditioned to believe that players like Du Plessis pick and choose when they still want to play.
Allied to his poor international form last season, sentiments about the former national patron were negative.
However, when the chaotic series of white balls against England ended abruptly, Du Plessis had scored 52 and 58 in two of the three T20 matches.
It was an indication of what was to come.
“I went through this process (like several athletes before me), where people talk about you and tell you that you are nearing the end of your career,” Du Plessis said.
“But I still believe that you need to listen to your body, to determine how fit you are to decide whether to continue playing. Actually, it’s not about your age.
“At 36, I think I’m moving better and fitter than certain 23-year-olds. We need to move away from the focus on age, rather than judging a player by what they are getting physically.
“For the first time in a long time, I feel like some of the younger players now need to follow me a little bit instead of the other way around.”
More importantly, the unusually long offseason allowed Du Plessis to strike a proper balance.
Like Du Plessis and Alberts, even the most experienced athletes need time to adapt to new environments.
In the cases of those two men, he was getting used to the Lions’ way of doing things.
Du Plessis had to make the mental change from scrutinized captain to senior player.
“In a normal season, cricket is played so continuously that you don’t have time to think things over,” he said.
“During the confinement, I was able to make sure that I was in good physical and mental shape.”
Critics may point out that Du Plessis’s brilliant effort at SuperSport Park was made against a weak and committed attack from Sri Lanka, but the reality is that it paid off.
Top-notch players not only make a seductive 80 or even 100 against teams like that, they make 199.
Legacy
One intriguing aspect about Du Plessis’ resurgence at the highest level is that he is now in a prime position to break the curse of Proteas hitting stars possibly retiring too soon.
Graeme Smith’s retirement at 34 remains a tough pill to swallow in hindsight, while AB’s continued punches from Villiers in major T20 leagues are frustrating to the core.
Perhaps Du Plessis’s hunger is greater because he only made his international debut at age 26, in contrast to Smith and De Villiers, who were 21 and 20 respectively.
Regardless, South Africa needs the continuity that he can provide, not only in terms of its effect on results, but also to inspire the next generation.
Local cricket, haunted by the Covid-19 pandemic, financial uncertainty and shady governance, has become unappealing.
A 36 year old saying that shows you still want to keep your Protea Fire on can go a long way in rectifying that perception.
