'My wife and I received death threats after that match' - Faf du Plessis recalls 2011 World Cup knockout loss

Faf du Plessis, the former South Africa skipper, recalled an incident when he had his wife, Imari Visser, had faced flak from the people on social media. The development unfolded after the Proteas lost to New Zealand by 49 runs in the quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup. Chasing 222, Graeme Smith and Co were bowled out for 172 runs 40 balls short of their 50 overs.

At the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, Du Plessis scored 36 runs off 43 balls while batting at number six. But his knock went in vain as the Proteas lost yet another knockout game in a world event. Going down the memory lane, Faf told how after the defeat, his wife was greeted with death threats and the happening made them ‘introverted’.

It forces us to keep our circles very small: Faf du Plessis

“I received death threats after that [match]. My wife received death threats. We turned on social media and we were blown away. It became very personal. There were some very offensive things said that I won’t repeat,” du Plessis was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo’s Cricket Monthly.

“It makes you introverted towards people and you put a shield up. All players go through this and it forces us to keep our circles very small. It’s why I’ve worked so hard on creating a safe space within our camp,” he stated.

In the game, Du Plessis came to bat when the Proteas were 121 for four in 27.4 overs. Nathan McCullum had cleaned up JP Duminy, who scored a painstaking 12-ball three. But in the same over when Faf came to bat, South Africa endured a massive disaster.

AB de Villiers, who had gotten his eyes in, got run out after a horrendous mix-up. He was batting on 35 with four fours when he got out. After the dismissal, the Proteas collapsed to 146 for eight in 37.4 overs.

After Faf got out to Jacob Oram in the 43rd over, the writing was on the walls for the Proteas. The lower-order batters couldn’t get into the double digits as South Africa got knocked out of the tournament.