Proteas put life and death aside to focus on test

‘ It’s really important that, after this test, we don’t fall into a mental hangover

IT IS beyond all of cricket’s boundaries that one of the key members of South Africa’s dressingroom in England is celebrating the arrival of a new life even as another is mourning the loss of a loved one.

Faf du Plessis returned there during the first test at Lord’s, having missed the match to be with his wife‚ Imari‚ to welcome their daughter‚ Amalie‚ into the world.

Russell Domingo left this safe space in pain on Sunday and made his way home for the funeral of his mother‚ who has died following a car accident last month.

To be reminded that there are bigger‚ more important things in the world than mere cricket should serve as a sobering jolt for the South Africans.

So they were shot out for 119 in their second innings and lost the Lord’s test by 211 runs. So what?

So they will have to find a way to perform better in the second test‚ starting in Nottingham on Friday. And if they do not, will it matter? Not a jot. Cricket is not a life and death matter. Should we forget that‚ we have life and death themselves to keep it real.

But someone will mark out a run-up at Trent Bridge on Friday and someone else will face the first ball‚ and cricket will go on even though life will seem to stand as still as death.

These truths are as inescapable as the fact that South Africa will have to deal efficiently with the disappointment at Lord’s if they are to not go 2-0 down.

And that on a tour in which they have lost the one-day and T20 series and embarrassed themselves in the Champions Trophy.

“It’s really important that after this test we don’t fall into a mental hangover [for] the tour we have had so far‚” Du Plessis said.

“That will be one of my most important jobs and [that of] the senior players this week: how to make sure we stay well away from that and focus on the next test match.”

Du Plessis will reclaim the captaincy from Dean Elgar‚ who is the kind of decent man who will beat himself up for what happened under his watch.

Someone is going to have to tell him not to‚ not least because he is a crucial cog in a batting lineup that needs to find a way out of their miasma of mediocrity.

Someone must also tell J P Duminy he will not play in Nottingham‚ not after his 10 innings below 50 in his last dozen test innings.

“JP will be the first guy to say he knows he needs to score runs for this team – it is no different for anyone else‚” Du Plessis said.

And South Africa must not lose the reality that cricket is only a game. That way‚ they might play it better.