Posted by Faf du Plessis is a competitor. That’s the kind of thing people say. It’s a shorthand way of saying that he only seems capable of playing to his full potential when there’s a stronger taste of conflict to proceedings.
Performing in what is never called the crucible of county cricket, du Plessis didn’t really make any runs. Quite often he fails to do so in Tests too.
Then there are the good days, when he looks cut from a different cloth. Nothing silky. It would be some sort of high quality durable fabric, possibly with water repellent properties and a rough finish.
Psyched up for his Test debut, he made 110 not out off 376 balls to earn South Africa a draw after they’d been 45-4. Today, having spent the week being harangued for being a ‘guilty‘ man, he made a hundred in a day-night Test when everyone else struggled.
This particular adrenaline-sharpened form of Faf didn’t even get hit in the nads.
Some days you don’t need to dismiss him at all – just being incredibly shit at batting on home pitches while the end of the day approaches will suffice…
The Aussies seem to be comfortably winning this test at the moment, but here’s the thing – this is GOOD NEWS.
Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my marbles or anything. I know that there is little in life not involving fresh cream that is more enjoyable than watching the Aussies lose. But just as with aggressive play, the Aussie Way contains a number of aspects that are ultimately damaging to them, and we might get the chance to witness another one in action soon.
The characteristic in the spotlight is their fundamental belief that they are better at cricket than everyone else. That is, the normal way of things is that Australia is number one top nation, and all periods when this isn’t true are exceptions. The school system, the academy system, the grade system and the Sheffield Shield, all combined with the lure of a stupid hat, will produce great cricket teams as a matter of course. They just have to wait for a little while longer before the next world-conquering team pops up and world-conquers.
Six test losses on the bounce, especially ones involving massive batting collapses, might have upset this view. However, a solid batting performance and a dead-rubber test win will completely convince everyone at CA that things are nicely back on track. They will do nothing, reverting instead to the belief that the hat fetish is sufficient preparation for test cricket. And on that basis alone they can enjoy considerably more time wearing their floppy hats than, say, batting helmets. And we can all enjoy that with them.
Excellent Carl Hooper-heavy Cricket Badger this week KC. Many thanks.
The pleasure’s ours.
…and Charles’s.