Kent call on Faf – and the timing couldn’t be better

Not a lot would seem to ride on Faf du Plessis playing for Kent in what is left of the county T20 competition.

However, he could have a point to prove about his whiteball future in the awkward lull between SA’s disappointing 2019 World Cup and the hope for improvement offered by the 2020 T20 equivalent.

Du Plessis has signed to play in Kent’s last two group games‚ against Gloucestershire in Canterbury on Thursday and against Essex at Chelmsford the next day.

He replaces Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi‚ who is required for a T20 triangular involving Zimbabwe in Bangladesh in September.

Du Plessis will stay on if the county make it to the knockout rounds‚ which start next Wednesday with the first quarterfinal and end with the final at Edgbaston on September 21.

Kent are third in their group and primed for the playoffs.

Du Plessis has an opportunity to remind people why he was SA’s leading batter in a World Cup that will be remembered for his team losing five of their eight completed games.

Quinton de Kock will lead SA in their T20 series in India in September because Du Plessis had agreed to play in the Euro T20 Slam‚ which was subsequently cancelled.

Had Kent not come calling, Du Plessis might have been all padded up with no place to go‚ in T20 terms‚ until the Mzansi Super League (MSL) in November and December.

That would not have been the best situation for a player and captain who wants to stay in form and relevant‚ particularly in this furiously fluid time in the game in SA.

On Tuesday‚ for instance‚ the Jozi Stars replaced the coach who took them to the title last season.

He is Enoch Nkwe, now SA’s interim team director for the tour to India.

Donovan Miller‚ former Jamaica U19 player who is part of England’s Ashes staff and worked on their successful World Cup effort – and was part of the Stars’ 2018 retinue – has been made head coach.

“I’ve played with some of the squad members in the past and look forward to joining up with all the guys again‚” Du Plessis was quoted as saying in a Kent release on Monday.

Two of them are fellow Affies alum and former Titans teammate Heino Kuhn and Hardus Viljoen.

Du Plessis has indicated the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia will be his international swansong. –