PROTEAS CRUSHED

SOUTH Africa needed their skipper to win the toss on that first day at St George’s Park.

The sun was baking down and the pitch was flatter than the pancakes being sold at the concession stands behind the grass banks.

But yet again Faf du Plessis lost – for the sixth successive time.

Counterpart Joe Root did not hesitate after calling correctly, saying, “we’ll bat” and from thereon it was always going to be a hard slog.

“If I am honest, I think losing the toss here was quite big,” Proteas coach Mark Boucher said.

“We didn’t expect the conditions to play like that. I don’t think anyone expected it to play like that. The groundsman said it was going to do something and then it did absolutely nothing.”

Every morning England arrived at the ground seemingly better prepared for battle.

On the first day, their openers Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley ground out 61 runs without loss to calm the early nerves.

On the second day, Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope drove home the advantage by adding 111 runs, with

SOUTH Africa could start the next home summer with a new Test captain after Faf du Plessis admitted the series finale against England starting on Friday at the Wanderers could be his farewell home Test.

Du Plessis’ future across formats has been under scrutiny since the disappointing World Cup last year. He has always indicated that the World T20 in Australia later this year could be his international swansong, but has now finally revealed some clarity relating to the individual formats too.

“I have committed until the T20 World Cup,” Du Plessis said. “There isn’t a lot of Test cricket left this year: one massive Test where we need everyone to be as strong as possible, (and) afterwards there is quite a big gap. I have said before, there is an opportunity to release some of the captaincy. Two Test matches in the West Indies

Stokes bringing up his ninth Test century in the process.

For two consecutive days, South Africa has failed to make a breakthrough in the morning.

Although there were rain interruptions on the remaining days, the contrast could not be bigger as the Proteas added just 35/1 on the third day before folding like a deck of cards on the fourth morning when they lost four wickets for just one run in a manic 30 minutes that ultimately decided the game.

Yesterday’s four wickets were a mere formality.

South Africa’s batsmen are horribly out of form, and the fact that it’s the top-order is creating problems all the way through.

The ripple effect is that South Africa are unable to put together any meaningful partnerships.

The home side have only managed one in excess of 100 between Dean Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen at Newlands.

Here in Port Elizabeth, it was even worse with Keshav Maharaj and Dane Paterson putting on 99 for the very last wicket.

England, meanwhile, changed the course of the game with the 203run (in July), and the rest of the year is whiteball stuff.

“Most probably after that, Test cricket will be something that won’t see me. “That’s a decision I will make then.” Du Plessis has been under intense pressure of late. His team are under-performing with South Africa having lost 2-1 at home to Sri Lanka last year, been white-washed in India 3-0 and now they trail England 2-1 with only one Test remaining.

Equally, his personal form in Test cricket has also been disappointing, having not scored a century in 15 innings now.

It certainly is a different world to when Du Plessis was leading the Proteas to series victories over Australia – the first South African captain to achieve this feat both home and away – and was among the team’s leading Test run-scorers. The skipper admitted he is feeling the pressure. stand between Stokes and Pope.

Kagiso Rabada had just clean bowled Root and was looking to run through the remainder of the England line-up.

But Stokes and Pope knuckled down before counter-attacking with a match-winning partnership.

“They had one partnership of 200, and once you have you are in front of the game,” Du Plessis said after the game.

Both teams are in transition, and Root and Du Plessis will admit to it.

England have not won a series outright in a year – just like South Africa – and are trialling a few younger players on this tour.

The Proteas, meanwhile, could hand out a sixth Test debut in 10 Tests at the Wanderers.

It’s the England rookies that are outshining South Africa’s at the moment, though, with Pope showing off his class while striking his maiden Test ton.

Sibley and Crawley may not be the flashiest opening pair in the world, but they are resolute and defiant – characteristics the Proteas yearn for in their own batting unit.

And there’s Dom Bess, who is

“I am not a robot. It does chip away at your character. You do find ways to make sure you are as strong as possible. It is like anything … it is a character-builder. You make sure you learn as much about yourself even in the toughest of times so that you can be strong for someone else.

“It is a tough time, but there is no running away from it. There is no escaping it. I am the leader of the team and it comes with the job description. There was a time when things were nice and easy, and everything was going our way. Now we are at the bottom of that wave and we have to go to work again.”

On the last England tour to South Africa four years ago, the Proteas underwent a leadership change after two Tests when Hashim Amla stood down at Newlands. AB de Villiers was installed as captain for the remainder of the series, fulfilling a loving the fact that he is getting the opportunity to wear an England cap and not Somerset Second XI jumper. His five wickets in the first innings blew the Proteas away.

Ahead of the last World Cup, each captain was asked to choose one player from the opposition’s line-up that they would most like in their team.

If this had to be posed to Du Plessis now, it would be hard to imagine he would look any further than Stokes.

England’s maverick all-rounder continues to be the fundamental difference separating the two teams at the moment.

Although he dropped three catches in the slips to actually prove he’s human, Stokes’ impact on the Test remains immeasurable.

His century in the first innings was pure class as it seamlessly switched from defence to attack.

“He is such an unbelievable player.

“He has matured in his game in the way that he has different levels,” Du Plessis said.

“Having X-factor in your team is so dangerous because you can blow teams away like Stokes has done.”

“lifelong dream” but could still not prevent England from winning the series.

Du Plessis stressed that he would not “pull the plug” mid-series and will lead the Proteas into battle at the Wanderers on Friday in what will in all likelihood be his final Test in South Africa.

“I don’t think that’s what’s leadership is about. I felt that the team has needed a leader to stand up and guide the ship through a difficult time,” he said.

“If you leave the team when they need you most, that’s not my style. I have been under pressure a few times and I’ve played my best innings under pressure.

“I can’t leave the team when they need me most. We are in a transition but I can’t do it forever. For now, that’s what we need. I think it will make it worse if I say

I’m out.”

BAFANA Bafana are not afraid of anyone as they await to know who they will face in their effort to qualify for the next World Cup.

Bafana haven’t qualified for football’s biggest showpiece since 2002 in South Korea and Japan. They last played at the World Cup in 2010 having earned their place as host nation. They missed out on the 2014 and 2018 editions in Brazil and Russia respectively.

The draw for the 2022 World Cup to be hosted by Qatar will take place tonight in Cairo where 40 teams will be divided into 10 groups.

Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki says they will be ready for whoever they are pitted against.

“We’ve got 40 teams in Africa and we are placed number 13. The top 10 teams are seeded. So, you’ll play any of those top teams. Now of late, there’s no longer such things as small football nations. All the nations are actually working very hard to do well,” Ntseki said.

“The respect you’ll give to Tunisia, Ghana and Nigeria is the same respect you have to give to Namibia. It is the same respect that you have to give to Malawi because all of them deserve to be in the top 40. They all want to qualify for the World Cup.”

Favourable draw

But what would he consider a favourable draw for Bafana?

“A good draw? We are going to be in a group of four teams where we will have to work hard and profile the opposition accordingly. We need to do well so that we can go into the top 20 then the top 10 and thereafter the top five that goes to the finals. “

Besides the 2010 tournament that they hosted, Bafana have qualified for two other World Cups.

In 1998, they qualified for their maiden World Cup in France under Clive Barker but were led by Frenchman Phillippe Troussier at the tournament. The last time Bafana managed to quality for the World Cup was back in 2002 when Carlos Quieros was in charge. Like Barker, Quieros was fired before the tournament and replaced by Jomo Sono for the finals.

Stuart Baxter failed to steer South Africa to qualification for Germany 2006 as well as Russia 2018. Gordon Igesund was in charge when the country failed to book a ticket to Brazil in 2014.

“The World Cup qualifiers are more of a marathon than a sprint. It is going to be very tough. We are expecting to play against any of those 39 teams and we need to prepare properly,” Ntseki said.

• The 40 teams that will be in the draw tonight are: Senegal, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Ghana, DRC Congo, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Uganda, Cape Verde, Gabon, Guinea, Uganda, Zambia,

Cape Verde, Benin, Congo Brazzaville, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Kenya, Central African Republic, Libya, Niger, Zimbabwe, Mau, Namibia, Giuneabissau, Malawi, Angola, Togo, Sudan, Rwanda, Angola, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Liberia and Djibouti.