News24
24 Jan 2021, 22:13 GMT+10
As a senior batsman in the Proteas set-up, it is important that Faf du Plessis is at peace with himself ahead of what will be a challenging Test series in Pakistan.
His previous trips to the sub-continent saw not only the team struggle but Du Plessis became the face of the team's struggle.
South Africa has lost eight of their past nine Tests in Asian, a number of them by wide margins.
Du Plessis was captain in five Tests against Sri Lanka and India and those are matches he'd rather forget.
But without the captaincy and refreshingly for him, a lack of concern with regards to what to expect at the National Stadium in Karachi ahead of Tuesday's first Test against Pakistan means Du Plessis has a lot more clarity with regards to what is expected from him with the bat.
Du Plessis' previous Asian sojourns had often seen him worried about pitch conditions and how much the ball will turn.
"I'm just enjoying my cricket at the moment. I'm trying to make sure that I'm putting myself in a position where I do the work and prepare as best as I can. From there, whatever happens will happen," Du Plessis said in a press conference on Saturday.
"It's coming from a place of contentment where I'm also enjoying the time I have with the team. It comes from a mental place where I'm very intentional in making sure that I enjoy my cricket. If that comes through performances or in the way that I speak, then I'm glad it is happening."
Missing from Du Plessis' Test hundred copy books are tons in Asia. Admittedly, he hasn't played a large bulk of his Test career there, but when he has it hasn't been pretty.
In 15 matches and 25 innings in Asia, Du Plessis has only scored 545 runs at an average of 22.70 with a highest of 80.
Du Plessis, who admitted to being spooked by former Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, will have to lead the charge against leg-spinner Yasir Shah.
Shah's effectiveness was limited in England and New Zealand, but is a different proposition this time around.
156 of his 227 Test scalps have been taken in Asia, meaning he's a clear and present danger for the Proteas.
Du Plessis has recognised this, while adding that reverse swing will also play a massive role.
"There are a few scoring options that the guys are working on, but the challenge lies when the spinner starts bowling a lot of dot balls. That's when they get into a rhythm and bowl in good areas, something Yasir Shah is good at. If you let him bowl at you, he'll do so, so you must have some very good plans to combat him," Du Plessis said.
"I'm interested in seeing the role that reverse swing will play in this series. The scuffing up of the ball doesn't happen as much as it used to. Also, the square is green and moist, so the general scuffing up of the ball doesn't happen as much as it used to, but the most important thing about playing reverse swing is doing so late."
Get a daily dose of Sierra Leone Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sierra Leone Times.
More InformationAUSTIN, Texas: Aviation and aerospace company SpaceX is expanding its presence to align with global demand by setting up a ...
GOTHENBURG, Sweden: Volvo targets to only manufacture electric cars by 2030 by significantly increasing the size of its U.S. South ...
CUPERTINO, California: Apple announced on Monday that all 270 of its store locations in the U.S. have officially opened for ...
Zoom Video Communications' fourth-quarter results trumped forecasts of moderate growth following its meteoric rise in 2020, with revenues surging 369 ...
BENGALORE, India: The Covid vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech has been found to be 81 percent effective, in an analysis ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rallied on Friday following the release of positive economic data.U.S. employers added 379,000 ...
Well-known businessman Peter Matlare, the deputy chief executive officer of Absa, has died from Covid-19 complications.Matlare had a storied business ...
ABDIJAN, IVORY COAST - Ivory Coast's main opposition party on Sunday claimed victory in a legislative election in the West ...
Lahore [Pakistan], March 7 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday named an independent fact-finding panel that will review the ...
Algiers [Algeria], March 7 (ANI/Xinhua): Seven people died and three others went missing amid floods that hit the northern region ...
Canada's Parliament recently passed a non-binding resolution declaring the treatment of the Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang province an act ...
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 7 (ANI): After suffering a massive defeat in the first ODI against South Africa Women, ...