Francois "Faf" du Plessis ( ; born 13 July 1984) is a South African professional
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er and former
captain of the
South Africa national cricket team
The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council ...
. He is considered one of the greatest fielders of all time and is among the best all-format batsmen of his era. He was named as the South African Cricketer of the Year in 2019. He is the captain of
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor ...
in the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...
. He is a right-handed batsman and part-time
leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
bowler. One of the most successful international captains of his era with a winning percentage of 73.68 in ODIs, he is the first international captain to defeat Australia in Australia in all three formats of the game and defeat Australia in both Home and Away test series, doing that back to back in 2016 and 2018. In 2016, he also became the first and only international captain to defeat Australia 5–0 in a five match series whitewash.
Du Plessis's test performance in the 2012 Adelaide test is judged as the best test batting performance by any batsmen on Australian soil since the year 2000, hence making it the best 21st-century test performance in Australia.
He has played South African domestic cricket for
Northerns and the
Titans
In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...
, as well as for
Lancashire County Cricket Club in England and
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India ...
,
Rising Pune Supergiant
Rising Pune Supergiant (often abbreviated as RPS) was a franchise cricket team based in Pune, Maharashtra, that played in the Indian Premier League in 2016 and as a finalist in 2017. It was the second team representing Pune after Pune Warriors ...
, and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
He made his international debut against
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in January 2011 in a
One Day International, scoring an unbeaten 60 runs, and went on to make his
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
debut in November 2012, becoming the fourth South African to score a Test century on debut. After making his T20 debut in September 2012, he was subsequently also named T20 captain
of South Africa for the following
Twenty20
Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...
series against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and confirmed full-time skipper in February 2013.
du Plessis took over the Test captaincy in December 2016 and assumed full-time captaincy in all
formats of the game in August 2017 after teammate and former captain
AB de Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five W ...
relinquished the two limited overs captaincies. In February 2021 he announced his retirement from Test cricket in order to focus on the
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
and
2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup
The 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the eighth ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. It was played in Australia from 16 October to 13 November 2022. Although originally scheduled to be held in 2020, in July 2020, the International Cricket Counc ...
s.
Domestic and T20 franchise career
du Plessis was given a six-month contract with
Lancashire County Cricket Club for the 2008 season as a
Kolpak player after impressing the board with good performances in the local Nottinghamshire leagues for
Mansfield Hosiery Mills and in the
Lancashire League for
Todmorden
Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax. In 2011 it had a population of 15,481.
Todm ...
. Following his initial stint with the club, du Plessis signed a new three-year deal. Lancashire coach
Mike Watkinson praised du Plessis' fielding, saying "if there's a better fielder in county cricket I've not seen him this season". In March 2010, it was announced that du Plessis would no longer be allowed to play for Lancashire as a Kolpak player after changes to the Kolpak rules. In 2011, he was signed by
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India ...
to play in the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...
.
Along with Jonathan Vandiar,
Dean Elgar
Dean Elgar (born 11 June 1987) is a South African cricketer who plays Tests and ODIs, and is the current Test captain. He is a left-handed opening batsman and a slow-left arm bowler.
Elgar captained the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri L ...
, and Ethi Mbhalati, du Plessis was one of four uncapped players to be named in South Africa's 30-man preliminary squad for the
2011 World Cup. He was named one of the five South Africa Cricket Annual's Players Of The Year in 2011.
In October 2018, he was named in
Paarl Rocks
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
' squad for the first edition of the
Mzansi Super League T20 tournament. He was the leading run-scorer for the team in the tournament, with 318 runs in nine matches.
In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Edmonton Royals franchise team in the
2019 Global T20 Canada
The 2019 Global T20 Canada was the second edition of the Global T20 Canada, a 20-over professional cricket tournament, played at the CAA Centre, Brampton, Ontario. It started on 25 July 2019, and concluded with the final on 11 August 2019. It ...
tournament. In September 2019, he was named in the squad for the
Paarl Rocks
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
team for the
2019 Mzansi Super League tournament, and led the team to their first title. In October 2020, he was drafted by the Colombo Kings for the
inaugural edition of the
Lanka Premier League
The Lanka Premier League (abbreviated as LPL; , ) is a professional cricket league in Sri Lanka in Twenty20 format contested every year by teams representing Sri Lankan cities from 2020. The league was founded by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in 201 ...
. In the same month, he was picked by
Peshawar Zalmi
Peshawar Zalmi ( ur, ; ps, پېښور زلمي; literally meaning "Peshawar's youth") is a Pakistani franchise T20 cricket team which plays in the Pakistan Super League and represents Peshawar, the capital city of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pro ...
to feature in the delayed playoffs of the
fifth season of the
Pakistan Super League
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Paki ...
as a replacement for
Kieron Pollard
Kieron Adrian Pollard (born 12 May 1987) is a Trinidadian who is a former West Indies cricketer. He has captained the West Indies cricket team in limited overs cricket. He currently plays in various T20 leagues around the globe as an all-roun ...
. He appeared only in one match as Zalmi were eliminated from the tournament in the first
eliminator.
In February 2021, he was signed by the
Quetta Gladiators
Quetta Gladiators (Urdu, Balochi: ; Pashto: کویټه ګلیډیټرز) is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 cricket franchise that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). They play most home games at the 27,000-capacity Gaddafi Stadium ...
for the
2021 Pakistan Super League
The 2021 Pakistan Super League (also known as PSL 6 or for sponsorship reasons HBL PSL 2021) was the sixth season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2015. It was i ...
but, in June 2021, he was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due a concussion sustained during a match after colliding with teammate
Mohammad Hasnain
Mohammad Hasnain (born 5 April 2000) is a Pakistani cricketer who has played for the Pakistan cricket team since 2019. He is one of the fastest bowlers currently, timed at over 150kmh.
Early life
Hasnain was born in a family of six tracing its ...
. He captained the
Saint Lucia Kings in the
2021 Caribbean Premier League
The 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPLT20) was the ninth season of the Caribbean Premier League, the domestic Twenty20 cricket league that was played in the West Indies. The tournament was held from 26 August to 15 September 2021, with all the m ...
, and the Bangla Tigers in the
2021 T10 League
2021 Abu Dhabi T10 was the fourth season of the Abu Dhabi T10. The matches had a 10-over-a-side format with a time duration of 90 minutes. The tournament was played as a round robin followed by semifinals and the final. It was originally schedu ...
. In November 2021, he was selected to play for the
Jaffna Kings following the players' draft for the
2021 Lanka Premier League
The 2021 Lanka Premier League also known as Wolf777 News LPL T20, for sponsorship reasons, was the second edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. It took place from 5 to 23 December 2021. Th ...
.
In the 2022
Indian Premier League auction, du Plessis was bought by
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor ...
; and named as team's captain on 12 March 2022. In April 2022, he was bought by the
Northern Superchargers
Northern Superchargers are a franchise 100-ball cricket side based in the city of Leeds. The team represents the traditional areas of North East and Yorkshire in The Hundred competition, which first took place during the 2021 English and Wel ...
for the
2022 season of
The Hundred in England. In November 2022, the
Perth Scorchers
The Perth Scorchers is an Australian domestic Twenty20 franchise cricket team representing the Western Australian city of Perth in the Big Bash League (BBL).
The Scorchers are the current BBL Champions, having defeated the Sydney Sixers in the ...
drafted him for the first half of the
2022–23 Big Bash League season
The 2022–23 Big Bash League season or BBL, 12 is the ongoing twelfth season of the Big Bash League (BBL), the professional men's Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. The round-robin phase of the tournament is scheduled to run ...
as a replacement for
Laurie Evans.
International career
Early days
du Plessis made his ODI debut on 18 January 2011 against India and made unbeaten 60 runs. He was chosen ahead of Albie Morkel for the
2011 World Cup on the
Indian Sub-continent and later made his
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
debut for
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
against
Australia at the
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby le ...
in 2012 as the number 6 batsman, replacing the injured
JP Duminy
Jean-Paul Duminy (born 14 April 1984), more commonly known as JP Duminy, is a South African cricket commentator, and former international cricketer. He was vice-captain of the South Africa Twenty20 team. He is a left-handed batsman and a rig ...
.
He scored 188 runs in the match and was selected as
Man-of-the-match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
for his resilient performance that ultimately led to the match being drawn and the series being square before the third and final Test in which he scored 78 runs the 1st innings and the last man to be dismissed, taking the South African score to 388 in reply to Australia's 550. In the 2nd innings, he scored a match-saving 110
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
from 376 balls over 466 minutes.
In the next test at
WACA Ground
The WACA (formally the WACA Ground) is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association.
The WACA has been referred to as Wester ...
, he scored a resilient unbeaten 78 from 142 balls to take his team's score to 225 in the 1st innings, from 75/6 with able support from
Robin Peterson
Robin John Peterson (born 4 August 1979) is a former South African cricketer who bowls left arm spin and is a capable batsman. He has played 14 Tests and over 70 ODIs for South Africa. He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on ...
(31 off 45),
Vernon Philander
Vernon Darryl Philander (born 24 June 1985) is a South African former international cricketer. He was a right-handed bowling all-rounder; he had previously represented his country at under 19 level. He played for the South Africa national cricke ...
(30 from 54) and last man
Morne Morkel
Morne is an Old-French word for a small mountain. It may refer to:
* Morne a Chandelle, a village in the Sud-Est department of Haiti
* Morne-à-l'Eau, a commune in Guadeloupe
* Morne Bois-Pin, the fourth highest mountain in Haiti
* Morne la Vigie ...
(17 from 15). South Africa won the 3-match Test Series against Australia 1–0. In December 2012, he was named captain of the
South African T20 team for three matches against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
In October 2013, he was fined 50% of his match fee after being found guilty of ball tampering in a Test match against
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.
In December 2013, he scored a test match saving hundred with a score of 134 off 309 balls against
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
while chasing 458 to win in the 4th innings. The match ended in a draw with South Africa on 450/7, only 8 runs short from what would have been the highest successful run chase in test match history. du Plessis made his maiden ODI hundred on 27 August 2014 against
Australia after scoring 106 off 98 balls while chasing 327 runs to win. His partnership of 206 runs with
AB de Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five W ...
for the 3rd wicket is the highest for South Africa against
Australia.
He was also named in the T20I XI by Cricinfo for his performances in 2013.
His second Hundred came only 6 days later in his next ODI match on 2 September 2014. He scored 126 from 109 balls against the same opposition although
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
lost by 62 runs. After making his maiden ODI hundred on 27 August 2014, and a consecutive ODI hundred on 2 September 2014, du Plessis followed with a third consecutive ODI hundred, scoring 121 off 140 balls, this time against Zimbabwe on 4 September 2014. (South Africa were playing an ODI tri-series with Australia and Zimbabwe.)
On 6 September 2014 against Australia, du Plessis fell only four runs short of becoming the first batsman in history to score 4 ODI hundreds in a row. (this would also have been a record for the most ODI hundreds by a batsman in any ICC ODI tournament) He initially looked on course to achieve his 4th ODI hundred until his batting partner AB de Villiers hit 2 sixes and a four in quick succession, which meant du Plessis had to obtain all the remaining runs in the game single-handedly if he was to reach this milestone. Needing only 1 run to win the game with plenty of wickets and balls in hand, du Plessis was on 96 and therefore had to hit a boundary (barring any extras) in order to reach 4 ODI hundreds in a row, but while attempting to hit a boundary he was caught off the bowling of Australia's spear-head Mitchell Johnson. South Africa still went on to win the ODI match against Australia comfortably by 6 wickets. This victory also secured South Africa as the winners of the ODI tri-series, and du Plessis subsequently became Man of the Series.
On 17 December 2014, du Plessis set the record for playing the most number of international cricket innings before scoring a duck (108) and also became the only batsman to play in over 100 international innings before first ever duck. On 27 December 2014, du Plessis scored his second first innings century at the same ground: St. George's Oval. On 11 January 2015, du Plessis scored 119 in 56 balls against West Indies, becoming the first South African to score centuries in all forms of the game.
Record breaking year
For the
2016–17 Australian tour of South Africa to play five ODIs, du Plessis was named captain after original skipper
AB de Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five W ...
ruled out due to a surgery. On 2 October, du Plessis scored his sixth century in the second game and became the second cricketer to score centuries in all international formats as captain, after Sri Lanka's
Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan ( si, තිලකරත්න මුදියන්සේලාගේ ඩිල්ෂාන්; born 14 October 1976), commonly known as TM Dilshan () is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of th ...
. During that same match at Johannesburg, du Plessis become the first batsman to score centuries in all three formats of cricket at a single venue. Till April 2018, he has scored 17 international centuries (seven Test, nine ODI and one T20I) and is the first South African to score a century in all international formats.
du Plessis is the first player to score a century in an innings of a
day/night Test as captain. In the same game he set the record for declaration of the lowest ever total ever as an unbeaten captain, where he remained unbeaten on 118 in South Africa's first innings score of 259/9 dec.
On 12 December 2016, with
AB de Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five W ...
stepping down as Test Captain, du Plessis also inherited the role.
On 7 February 2017, du Plessis scored 185 runs in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka, the second highest individual score by a South African, just three runs short of
Gary Kirsten's 188*.
Captaincy and beyond
On 24 August 2017, ODI captain de Villiers stepped down from captaincy and du Plessis was named as the captain in all three formats. On the same day, he was named as the captain of World XI team for the
three T20Is in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan won the series 2–1.
Following the conclusion of the series, Faf du Plessis said how much it meant for the people of Pakistan and that it hopefully will bring cricket back to the country.
In March 2019, in the second ODI
against Sri Lanka, du Plessis scored his 5,000th run in ODI cricket. The following month, he was named as the captain of
South Africa's squad for the
2019 Cricket World Cup
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted between 30 May ...
. He finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer for South Africa, with 387 runs in nine matches.
In August 2019, he was named the Men's Cricketer of the Year at
Cricket South Africa
Cricket South Africa (CSA) is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South Afr ...
's annual award ceremony. In December 2020, in the first Test
against Sri Lanka, du Plessis scored his 4,000th run and his
tenth century in Test cricket. He ended with 199, becoming the 13th player to be dismissed on 199 in Tests, and also won the
man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
award.
On 17 February 2021, du Plessis announced his retirement from
Tests after leading
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in 36
Test matches.
International Centuries
Faf du Plessis has scored
centuries
A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
A centennial or ...
(100 or more
runs in a single
innings) on 10 occasions in
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
, 12 occasions in
One Day Internationals (ODIs) and once in
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...
s (T20Is).
He scored his first century in November 2012 against
Australia on his debut, in the second innings of test match, in which he scored unbeaten 110 runs.
His highest Test score came in December 2020 against
Sri Lanka when he scored 199 in
Centurion.
It was over three years later in his 51st ODI that he made his first ODI century, scoring 106 against Australia in
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
.
His highest ODI score of 185 runs came on 7 February 2017, against
Sri Lanka in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
.
During the course of the innings, he set the record for the second highest ODI score by a South African after 188 by
Gary Kirsten.
He scored his maiden T20I century against the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
in January 2015,
becoming the first South African to score centuries in all three formats of the game.
Key
* * Remained
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
*
Captain of South Africa in that match
*
Man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
Test cricket centuries
One Day International cricket centuries
T20I cricket centuries
Controversy
Ball tampering
du Plessis has been found guilty of
ball tampering twice during his international career. The first time was during
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
Test match in 2013 against
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. In 2016, du Plessis was caught again ball tampering during the Hobart Test match against
Australia.
The first incident against Pakistan involved du Plessis rubbing the ball against a zip on his trousers in order to change the nature of the ball. This was caught on video and du Plessis was subsequently found guilty. He was fined 50% of his match fee. The second incident against Australia involved du Plessis rubbing what looked like a "lolly" or mint, on the ball in order to make one side sticky. du Plessis denied any wrongdoing and he pleaded not guilty to the charge. His teammate
Hashim Amla
Hashim Mahomed Amla OIS (born 31 March 1983) is a South African former international cricketer who played for South Africa in all three formats of the game. Amla holds the record for being the fastest ever to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 ...
defended him in a statement to the Australian media about the incident stating that the tampering claims were "a joke" and called them "ridiculous".
Regardless of the denials, du Plessis was found guilty of ball tampering on 21 November 2016. He was subsequently fined 100% of his match fee for the
second Test against Australia and he was given three demerit points. Four demerit points within 24 months leads to a one Test or two limited-over games suspension. du Plessis played the next test and scored a century. The following month he was made captain of the South African cricket team.
Personal life
du Plessis attended
Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool
Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (also known as Affies), is a public Afrikaans medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Elandspoort in Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The school was founded in 1920 by Jan Joubert and ...
(Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a public school located in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
. He attended alongside fellow Titans cricketers
AB de Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five W ...
,
Heino Kuhn
Heino Gunther Kuhn (born 1 April 1984) is a South African cricketer who has played for the national team. He has played for Titans and Northerns in South African domestic cricket and in March 2018 signed a Kolpak contract with Kent County Cri ...
and
Jacques Rudolph
Jacobus Andries "Jacques" Rudolph (born 4 May 1981) is a former South African cricketer who played for Glamorgan and in South Africa with Titans.
He attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, a popular and renowned public school located in Pretoria ...
. He is also a graduate of the
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...
. du Plessis is a
second cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
of Namibian rugby player Marcel du Plessis. His father Francois du Plessis played rugby in the centre position for Northern Transvaal in the 1980s. du Plessis was featured in the music video for the song "Maak Jou Drome Waar", a duet by
AB de Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five W ...
and
Ampie du Preez.
He married his long-time girlfriend Imari Visser in November 2013 at Kleine Zalze. They have 2 daughters, Amélie born in 2017 and Zoey in 2020. His sister Rhemi is married to fellow South African international cricketer
Hardus Viljoen
GC Viljoen (born 6 March 1989), known as Hardus Viljoen,Borland K (2016Viljoen desperate to earn a place in the national team, '' The Citizen'', 4 July 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016. is a South African professional cricketer. Viljoen played for ...
in December 2019.
du Plessis is a
Christian. du Plessis has said, "I know that my purpose is about more than the runs I score on the cricket field. I hope to be able to spend time with people to show them the love of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
and see His love shine through them as well."
On 17 July 2020, du Plessis released a statement via
Instagram, showing support for the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...
movement, following fellow Protea player
Lungi Ngidi
Lungisani True-man Ngidi (born 29 March 1996) is a South African professional cricketer who plays for the South Africa national cricket team. In the 2018 South African Cricket Annual Awards, he was named as one of the five Cricketers of the Year ...
's request for Cricket South Africa to be vocal about the movement and to address racism in cricket. du Plessis admitted that due to his ignorance, he silenced the struggles of others when he previously stated he does not see colour: "
acknowledge that South Africa is still hugely divided by racism and it is my personal responsibility to do my best to emphasise, hear the stories, learn and then be part of the solution with my thoughts, words and actions". He concluded his statement, saying "All lives don't matter UNTIL black lives matter. I'm speaking up now, because if I wait to be perfect, I never will. I want to leave a legacy of empathy. The work needs to continue for the change to come and whether we agree or disagree, conversation is the vehicle for change".
On 7 October 2022, du Plessis announced on his Instagram and Twitter profiles that his autobiography, ''FAF: Through Fire'', would be released on 28 October 2022.
Following the publication of his autobiography, Du Plessis remarked in an interview, "I asked myself the question: 'If you write this book, what are the kind of things people resonate with you as a person, as a leader?' And the answer was honesty and vulnerability."
References
External links
*
Faf du Plessiss profile page on Wisden
{{DEFAULTSORT:du Plessis, Faf
1984 births
Living people
Afrikaner people
South African people of Dutch descent
University of Pretoria alumni
Cricketers from Pretoria
South African cricketers
South Africa Test cricketers
South Africa One Day International cricketers
Cricketers who made a century on Test debut
South Africa Twenty20 International cricketers
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup
University of Pretoria cricketers
Northerns cricketers
Titans cricketers
Melbourne Renegades cricketers
Chennai Super Kings cricketers
Peshawar Zalmi cricketers
Rising Pune Supergiant cricketers
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots cricketers
Lancashire cricketers
World XI Twenty20 International cricketers
Paarl Rocks cricketers
Northern Superchargers cricketers
South African Christians