The Proteas’ record at Cricket World Cup events is substandard for a nation blessed with so much talent. And with a 50-over edition on the horizon, in October in India, South Africa need their best players vying for the trophy.

And Faf du Plessis, at 38 years old, is currently playing some of the best cricket of his nearly 20-year career.

Although he last represented the country in One-Day Internationals (ODI) at the previous edition of the event, in England in 2019, and has been a T20 maverick for the past few years, he has never officially retired from white-ball cricket for South Africa.

In fact, new white-ball national coach Rob Walter has been in conversation with Du Plessis about his return to the national team.

“We’ve always been open to talks with our ‘freelance’ players and, having spoken to the coach, Rob [Walter], he is very much interested to resume those conversations to see how best we can all work together moving forward,” Cricket South Africa director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe said earlier this year.

Just how far these conversations have gone and what was said has not been disclosed but Du Plessis has not been recalled to any of the Proteas’ squads yet.

Bat doing the talking

Nevertheless, Du Plessis has allowed his blazing bat to do the talking in the interim, exhibiting sparkling form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

The former Proteas skipper is currently the leading run scorer in the tournament after nine matches with 466 runs at an average of 58.25 and a strike rate of 159.58.

Du Plessis has also hit more sixes than anyone else and no one has scored more half-centuries than his five.

These numbers are incredible by the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, especially considering the fragility of his side’s batting lineup outside of himself and Indian superstar Virat Kohli — who’s scored 102- runs fewer than Du Plessis.

His glittering batting is a continuation from his form in the SA20 earlier in the year where he was the second-leading run scorer to England’s Jos Buttler, although the former had a better average and strike rate.

Although T20 cricket is a different format to ODIs, Du Plessis is vastly experienced and has a splendid record in the 50-over game as well. He’s scored more than 5,000 runs in the format at an average just shy of 50.

Outside of his work with the willow, Du Plessis — who will be 39 when the World Cup comes around — remains an athletic fielder and an astute leader in every team he plays in.

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Faf du Plessis plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on April 20, 2023. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain / AFP)

Finding a spot

After South Africa’s battering of the Netherlands in late March in two ODIs, it seems as though the batting lineup — which has been the side’s Achilles heel for so long — is finally starting to click.

Captain Temba Bavuma’s record in ODI cricket is second to none and fellow opener Quinton de Kock is one of the most dangerous willow wielders in the format.

While in the middle-order, Rassie van der Dussen has a startling average exceeding 60 and Aiden Markram seems to finally have found his groove in the 50-over format — thumping his first century (175 off 126 balls), after 50 matches, in the second encounter against the Dutch.

Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, who have both been in crisp nick recently, look to be Walter’s preferred middle-to-later order finishers.

While the batting has gelled in the last couple of games, against the Netherlands, it’s worth noting the lack of experience in the side. Four of the Proteas’ top six in Bavuma, Van Der Dussen, Markram and Klaasen only have 157 ODI matches between them.

Du Plessis, conversely, has played 143 matches in the format. There’s no place where experience is more important than in the pressurised environment of a World Cup.

Additionally, the quadrennial spectacle will take place in India, the country Du Plessis is currently piling the runs on.

Finding a spot in the lineup for Du Plessis is not as easy as it might have been a few months ago but his knowledge, guile and batting talent will only improve South Africa’s chances of capturing an elusive World Cup trophy. DM