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It’s been a while since I’ve had cause to even mention a player whom, when I first began writing this column, was a source of much inspiration. If you’re a relatively new reader, you probably wouldn’t be aware of my affection for our recently named stand-in test captain Faf du Plessis.
In those heady days of old, I think I might have gone as far as saying Faf was the quintessential South African player – that is, one so overly cautious, risk averse and meek that even his apparent talent is contingent on sheer luck.
This, of course, has more often than not led me to the conclusion that South African cricket is branded along the lines of playing not to lose – in other words, playing for the draw, rather than playing to win.
Based on his previous showing of resolve in this regard, Du Plessis became the poster boy for this brand of dead-b(e)at cricket. If you’re sceptical of my analysis, just visit Du Plessis’ Wikipedia page and see for yourself the number of times “saving the test match” has been listed under his achievements.
I’m quite certain Du Plessis has what it takes to manage captaining a couple of tests at the beginning of the season. What I’m uncertain of, however, is the fact that Du Plessis is standing in in the first place, and for an ageing AB de Villiers, who, by all accounts, is taking a tremendous amount of strain.
This given De Villiers’ international superstar status and concomitant appearances in any and every “wham bam thank you ma’am” T20 league out there, the most recent being the Caribbean Premier League, during which he sustained an elbow injury. More than anything, it appears De Villiers has joined the cricketing circus and in the process has become one of its main attractions.
But I digress. What surprises me is that the Proteas’ selectors went with a stand-in captain instead of appointing a new permanent captain. My thinking around this centres on two aspects, the first being that the Proteas are a team in transition, or a work in progress, which means there is wiggle room for experimentation and expression. The second is that the Proteas are currently placed sixth in the ICC test rankings, which means they have nothing to protect in terms of status, and everything to gain in terms of finding a working formula.
Their toppling from the summit of the rankings should have been accepted as a breath of fresh air, as many of the old guard retired to make way for some exciting new blood.
Why not appoint a young captain with hardly any experience but an invaluably untamed spirit that would take the team to new and greater heights? If I recall correctly, the last time this was done, Graeme Smith was named Proteas captain at the tender age of 22. And we all know what transpired thereafter, with the Proteas enjoying a lengthy reign at the top of the test ranking.
If Kagiso Rabada winning no less than six accolades at the recent Cricket SA Awards is anything to go by, I’d say he’s the perfect candidate to take up the captaincy. He’s young, fierce, fearless, undoubtedly talented and seemingly hungry to learn with every step he takes in his international career, much like Smith was when he was around Rabada’s age and was given the opportunity and responsibility to lead.
If South African cricket is to transform in a positive manner, there needs to be a shift in mind-set from the staid, dead-batting culture of drawing towards chasing the thrill of winning and playing with vigour. And what better figurehead of winning could we present than Rabada?
@Longbottom_69 is an armchair cricket critic. If you haven’t already noticed, he’s a huge KG fan
