Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis
Personal information
Full name Francois du Plessis
Born (1984-07-13) 13 July 1984
Pretoria, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Nickname Faf
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right-arm leg-break
Role Middle order batsman
T20 captain
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 314) 22 November 2012 v Australia
Last Test 14 January 2016 v England
ODI debut (cap 101) 18 January 2011 v India
Last ODI 9 October 2016 v Australia
ODI shirt no. 18
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2004–present Northerns
2005–present Titans
2008–2009 Lancashire
2011–2015 Chennai Super Kings
2012 Melbourne Renegades
2016—present Rising Pune Supergiants
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 31 95 109 212
Runs scored 1,823 3,274 6,228 7,189
Batting average 42.39 40.92 39.41 43.83
100s/50s 4/8 5/20 12/37 15/43
Top score 137 133* 176 133*
Balls bowled 78 192 2,558 2,238
Wickets 0 2 41 54
Bowling average – 94.50 36.02 37.59
5 wickets in innings – 0 0 0
10 wickets in match – n/a 0 n/a
Best bowling – 1/8 4/39 4/47
Catches/stumpings 15/– 50/– 90/– 113/–
Source: CricketArchive, 9 October 2016

Francois "Faf" du Plessis (/ˈduːplɛˌsi/ DOO-ple-SEE; born 13 July 1984) is a South African cricketer who captains the Proteas in T20I and is also the appointed vice captain in the ODI and Test format of the game.

He is a usual fixture at international level for the South African national cricket team. A right-handed middle order batsman who moved up to number 3 and also bowls part-time leg spin, du Plessis has played South African domestic cricket for Northerns and the Titans, as well as matches for Lancashire, the Chennai Super Kings, and the Melbourne Renegades.

He made his Test debut in November 2012, he became the fourth South African to score a Test century on debut.[1] du Plessis was subsequently also named T20 captain[2] of South Africa for the following Twenty20 series against New Zealand and confirmed full-time skipper in Feb 2013.[3]

Domestic career

du Plessis was given a 6-month contract with Lancashire for the 2008 season starting in April as a Kolpak player after impressing the board with good performances in the local Nottinghamshire leagues for Mansfield Hosiery Mills and in the Lancashire League for Todmorden.[4][5] Du Plessis started his Lancashire account by scoring 55 against Durham UCCE before being dismissed by opening bowler Foster. Following his six-month stint with Lancashire, du Plessis signed a new three-year deal with the club. Lancashire coach Mike Watkinson praised du Plessis' fielding, saying "if there's a better fielder in county cricket I've not seen him this season".[6] In March 2010, it was announced that du Plessis would no longer be allowed to play for Lancashire as a Kolpak player after changes to the Kolpak rules. In 2011, he was signed by the 2010 IPL Champions Chennai Super Kings for US$120,000 at the Indian Premier League player auction.[7]

Along with Jonathan Vandiar, Dean Elgar, and Ethi Mbhalati, du Plessis was one of four uncapped players to be named in South Africa's 30-man preliminary squad for the 2011 World Cup.[8] He was named one of the five South Africa Cricket Annual's Players Of The Year in 2011.

Du Plessis had a very successful season with the Chennai Super Kings scoring 398 runs in IPL 2012. Du Plessis has never got out for a duck in his career, until the qualifier 2 match against KXIP in IPL 2014 having been dismissed for a golden duck.

International career

Du Plessis made his ODI debut on January 18, 2011 against India and made unbeaten 60 runs. He was chosen ahead of Albie Morkel for 2011 World Cup in Indian Sub-continent

Du Plessis made his Test debut for South Africa against Australia at Adelaide in 2012 as the number 6 batsman; due to the unfortunate injury and non-availability of JP Duminy.

He scored 188 runs in the match and was selected as Man-of-the-match for his resilient performance that ultimately led to the match being drawn and the series being square before the third and final test. He had scored 78 from 159 before being dismissed by Ben Hilfenhaus in the 1st innings, giving a 93-run 8th wicket partnership with injured Jacques Kallis (58 from 93).

Du Plessis subsequently was the last man to be dismissed, taking the South African score to 388 in reply to Australia's 550. In the 2nd innings, he scored a resilient match-saving 110* from 376 balls, a marathon knock which spanned 466 minutes to save the defeat. He again gave 99-run 6th wicket partnership with injured Jacques Kallis and together they ensured that South Africa ensure a draw on the 5th day.

In the next test at WACA Ground, he scored a resilient unbeaten 78 from 142 balls to take his team's score to 225 in the 1st innings, from 75/6 with able support from Robin Peterson (31 off 45), Vernon Philander (30 from 54) and last man Morne Morkel (17 from 15).

South Africa won the 3-match Test Series against Australia 1–0.

In December 2012, he was named captain of the South African T20 team for three matches against New Zealand.[2]

In October 2013, he was fined 50% of his match fee after being found guilty of ball tampering in a Test match against Pakistan.[9]

In December 2013, he scored a test match saving hundred with a score of 134 off 309 balls against India while chasing 458 to win in the 4th innings. The match ended in a draw with South Africa on 450/7, only 8 runs short from what would have been the highest successful run chase in test match history.

Du Plessis made his maiden ODI hundred on 27 August 2014 against Australia after scoring 106 off 98 balls while chasing 327 runs to win. His partnership of 206 runs with AB de Villiers for the 3rd wicket is the highest for South Africa against Australia.

His second Hundred came only 6 days later in his next ODI match on 2 September 2014. He scored 126 from 109 balls against the same opposition although South Africa lost by 62 runs.

After making his maiden ODI hundred on 27 August 2014, and a consecutive ODI hundred on 2 September 2014, Du Plessis followed with a third consecutive ODI hundred, scoring 121 off 140 balls, this time against Zimbabwe on 4 September 2014. (South Africa were playing an ODI tri-series with Australia and Zimbabwe.)

On 6 September 2014 against Australia, Du Plessis fell only 4 runs short of becoming the first batsman in history to score 4 ODI hundreds in a row. (This would also have been a record for the most ODI hundreds by a batsman in any ICC ODI tournament) He initially looked on course to achieve his 4th ODI hundred until his batting partner AB de Villiers hit 2 sixes and a four in quick succession, which meant Du Plessis had to obtain all the remaining runs in the game single-handedly if he was to reach this milestone. Needing only 1 run to win the game with plenty of wickets and balls in hand, Du Plessis was on 96 and therefore had to hit a boundary (barring any extras) in order to reach 4 ODI hundreds in a row, but while attempting to hit a boundary he was caught off the bowling of Australia's spear-head Mitchell Johnson. South Africa still went on to win the ODI match against Australia comfortably by 6 wickets. This victory also secured South Africa as the winners of the ODI tri-series, and Du Plessis subsequently became Man of the Series.

On 27 December 2014, Du Plessis scored his second first innings century at the same ground: St. George's Oval. On 11 January 2015 Plessis scored 119 in 56 balls against West Indies, becoming the second South African (after Richard Levi) to score a century and also the first South African to score centuries in all forms of the game.

For the 2016–17 Australian tour of South Africa to play five ODIs, du Plessis was named captain after original skipper AB de Villiers ruled out due to a surgery.[10] On 2 October, du Plessis scored his sixth century in second game. In the process, he became the second cricketer to score centuries in all formats as captain, after the Sri Lankan, Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Ball tampering controversies

du Plessis has been accused of ball tampering twice during his international career; once during a Test match against Pakistan in 2013 after which he was fined 50% of his match fee, and, in 2016, during another Test match against Australia.

The first incident against Pakistan involved du Plessis seemingly rubbing the ball against a zip on his trousers in order to change the nature of the ball. This was caught on video and du Plessis was subsequently found guilty. The second incident against Australia involved du Plessis apparently rubbing a "lolly" against the ball, again to change the nature of the ball. Du Plessis has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Hashim Amla, one of du Plessis' teammates, defended him in a speech he gave to Australian media about the incident stating that the tampering claims were "a joke" and called them "ridiculous".[11]

du Plessis was found guilty of ball tampering on 21 November 2016. He was subsequently fined 100% of his match fee for the second Test against Australia and was given three demerit points.[12]

Personal life

Du Plessis attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a public school located in Pretoria. He attended alongside fellow Titans cricketers AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn and Jacques Rudolph. He is also a graduate of the University of Pretoria. Du Plessis is a second cousin of Namibian rugby player Marcel du Plessis. His father Francois Du Plessis played rugby in the Centre position for Northern Transvaal in the 1980s.

He was featured in the music video for the song "Maak Jou Drome Waar", a duet by AB de Villiers and Ampie du Preez.[13]

International centuries

Test centuries

Faf du Plessis' Test centuries
# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
1 110* 1  Australia Australia Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval 2012 Drawn
2 137 4  New Zealand South Africa Port Elizabeth, South Africa St George's Oval 2013 Won
3 134 10  India South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa Wanderers Stadium 2013 Drawn
4 103 19  West Indies South Africa Port Elizabeth, South Africa St George's Oval 2014 Drawn
5 112* 31  New Zealand South Africa Centurion, South Africa SuperSport Park 2016 Won
6 118* 34  Australia Australia Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval 2016 Lost

One Day International centuries

Faf du Plessis' One Day International centuries
# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
1 106 51  Australia Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club 2014 Won
2 126 53  Australia Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club 2014 Lost
3 121 54  Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club 2014 Won
4 109 71  Ireland Australia Canberra, Australia Manuka Oval 2015 Won
5 133* 82  India India Mumbai, India Wankhede Stadium 2015 Won
6 111 94  Australia South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa Wanderers Stadium 2016 Won

Twenty20 International centuries

Faf du Plessis' Twenty20 International centuries
# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
1 119 22  West Indies South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa Wanderers Stadium 2015 Lost

International awards

Test cricket

Man of the Match awards

S No Series Season Match Performance Result
1 2nd Test - South Africa in Australia Test Series 2012/13 1st Innings: 78 (159 balls, 13x4, 1x6) ; 7-0-34-0.
2nd Innings: 110* (376 balls, 14x4) ; 1-0-8-0 ; 1 ct.		 Match drawn.[14]

One-Day International cricket

Man of the series awards

# Series Season Match Performance Result
1 Zimbabwe Triangular Series 2014/15 464 Runs (4 Matches, 3×100, 1×50) with avg. 92.80  South Africa Won the series.[15]

Man of the Match awards

S No Opponent Venue Date Match Performance Result
1 Sri Lanka Chevrolet Park, Bloemfontein 17 January 2012 4-0-25-0 ; 72 (74 balls, 7x4)  South Africa won by 4 runs (D/L).[16]
2 Pakistan Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 6 November 2013 55 (60 balls, 8x4) ; 2 ct.  South Africa won by 68 runs.[17]
3 Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club, Harare 4 September 2014 121 (140 balls, 5x4, 4x6)  South Africa won by 63 runs.[18]
4 Australia Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg 2 October 2016 111 (93 balls, 13x4)  South Africa won by 142 runs.[19]

Twenty20 International Cricket

Man of the Series Awards

# Series Season Match Performance Result
1 South Africa vs Pakistan in UAE 2013/14 95 runs (2 matches 1x50)  South Africa won the series by 2-0.[20]
2 South Africa in Bangladesh 2015 95 runs (2 matches 1x50) avg. 95.00  South Africa won the series by 2-0.[21]

Man of the Match Awards

# Series Date Opponent Match Performance Result
1 South Africa vs Pakistan in UAE 15 January 2013 Pakistan 58* (48 balls, 1x4, 1x6) ; 1 ct.  South Africa won by 6 runs.[22]
2 South Africa in Bangladesh 5 July 2015 Bangladesh 79* (61 balls, 8x4)  South Africa won by 52 runs.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Scorecard, Wisden India, retrieved 2012-11-26
  2. 1 2 Du Plessis to lead South African Twenty20 side, Wisden India, retrieved 2012-12-12
  3. ↑ Du Plessis takes over as T20 skipper, Wisden India, retrieved 2013-02-20
  4. ↑ Lancashire sign du Plessis for 2008, Cricinfo.com, 30 November 2007, retrieved 2007-11-30
  5. ↑ Lancs sign South African prospect, BBC Online, 30 November 2007, retrieved 2007-11-30
  6. ↑ Du Plessis signs new Lancs deal, BBC Online, 19 August 2008, retrieved 2008-08-19
  7. ↑ Rediff Staff (9 January 2011), Chennai buy du Plessis for $120,000, rediff.com
  8. ↑ ESPNcricinfo staff (14 December 2010), Rudolph in preliminary South Africa World Cup squad, retrieved 2010-12-14
  9. ↑ Ali, Rizwan (26 October 2013), South Africa's Faf du Plessis fined 50 per cent of match fee for ball tampering, London: The Independent, retrieved 2013-10-26
  10. ↑ "AB de Villiers to have surgery, ruled out of Australia tour". ESPNcricinfo. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Tampering claims against Faf du Plessis "a joke"".
  12. ↑ "Faf du Plessis fined for ball tampering".
  13. ↑ "AB de Villiers & Ampie du Preez – Maak Jou Drome Waar". YouTube. 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  14. ↑ "South Africa in Australia Test Series, 2012 - 2nd Test".
  15. ↑ "Zimbabwe Triangular Series, 2014/15". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Sri Lanka in South Africa ODI Series, 2012 - 3rd ODI".
  17. ↑ "Pakistan v South Africa ODI Series, 2013 - 3rd ODI".
  18. ↑ "Zimbabwe Triangular Series, 2014 - 6th match".
  19. ↑ "Australia tour of South Africa, 2nd ODI: South Africa v Australia at Johannesburg, Oct 2, 2016".
  20. ↑ "Pakistan v South Africa T20I Series, 2013 – South Africa v Pakistan Scorecard".
  21. ↑ "South Africa in Bangladesh T20I Series, 2015 – Bangladesh v South Africa Scorecard".
  22. ↑ "Pakistan v South Africa T20I Series, 2013 – South Africa v Pakistan 2nd T20I match Scorecard".
  23. ↑ "South Africa in Bangladesh T20I Series, 2015 – Bangladesh v South Africa 1st T20I Scorecard".

External links

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