Cricket SA must learn to keep best players

FAF du Plessis has a sharp sense of humour and it didn’t fail him as he left a press conference at Newlands on Thursday that‚ for the best part of 15 minutes‚ it had nothing to do with the Test series his team had just won.

South Africa had smashed Sri Lanka by 282 runs with more than five sessions to spare to clinch the rubber 2-0.

But almost all the questions fired at Du Plessis were about Kyle Abbott and his decision to sign a Kolpak deal.

So‚ as Du Plessis rose to take his leave‚ he enquired whether there was any interest about what he may or may not have had in his mouth during his time on the field: “Anything on sweets?”

Last month’s ball-tampering saga‚ in which Du Plessis was found guilty and then lost an appeal for illegally using mints to help him shine the ball during South Africa’s Test series in Australia in November‚ seemed innocent by comparison.

And partly because all present on Thursday knew Abbott wouldn’t be the last South African to see his future beyond a foreign boundary.

“I suppose that creates an opportunity for us to learn from it,” Du Plessis said.

“You want to make sure Cricket South Africa keep their best players. You don’t want to lose players going overseas.

“Foreign currency will always be there but we need to find a way.”

Predictably‚ transformation‚ for some the whipping boy of everything that is wrong with South African sport‚ came in for another thrashing in the swamps of social media.

But‚ for Du Plessis‚ it was only “one of the factors”.

“Opportunity‚ money‚ transformation – there’s a lot of things that different guys will look at as their reason for going overseas‚” he said.

“But every single reason that is causing players to leave is a concern and we need to look at every single one of them.

“I can tell you directly [transformation’s] not Kyle’s reason for leaving. We’ve spoken about it and it’s more the point of view of security and what the future holds.

“He’s someone who has been not sure [of his place in the team] for a very long time.”

For Du Plessis’s next trick he will have to find a way to replace what Abbott brought to the party as recently as Thursday‚ when the third Test against the Lankans starts at the Wanderers.

The Knights’ Duanne Olivier‚ the leading wicket-taker in franchise first-class cricket this season‚ has taken Abbott’s place in the squad.

Wayne Parnell‚ who was released from the squad to play for the Cobras against the Lions in Oudtshoorn‚ made good use of that opportunity by taking 4/26.

Both could find themselves playing at the Wanderers‚ where an allpace attack would afford South Africa the chance to gauge their form and quality.

South Africa have breathing space because the match is a dead rubber but it will be followed by T20 and one-day series against Sri Lanka – lesser matters but still matches that need to be won.