South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis calls for fresh start ahead of England series

As off-field chaos continues in South Africa cricket, skipper Faf du Plessis has urged the administrators to sort things out and put their focus on the upcoming series against England at home. South Africa’s dismal performance this year has been compounded by the controversy that is going on in the nation;s cricket board.

Last week, Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Thaband Moroe was suspended. Moroe’s suspension followed Standard Bank announcing that their relationship with CSA, which started in 1998, would come to an end when the existing contract expires on April 30 next year. Later, CSA president Chris Nenzani announced that former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has accepted the role of director of cricket. The formal announcement of the appointment is likely to be made on Wednesday.

And as CSA desperately tries to sort out things, Faf du Plessis asked for plans to be put in place speedily to ensure the team is ready for their next on-field challenge. He said that the association should start afresh and called for the board to ensure the Test team gets everything it needs to prepare for the England series.

“Obviously a lot has happened but now it’s a new start,” du Plessis was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. “There’s not much time before the English series so now it’s about putting our focus back on to the team, making sure that the Test team gets all the things that are required for us to be successful.”

While England have already named their squad, there is no confirmation on when would the Proteas announce their squad. South Africa, in fact, do not have a selection panel right now. The four-match Test series will start on the Boxing Day in Cape Town.

Faf du Plessis offers to be a buffer

The Proteas skipper made it crystal clear that the players have nothing to do with the chaos going on in the board. At the same time, he also stated that he could be a buffer between the players and administrators as long as it allowed plans for England to proceed swiftly.

“The players have got absolutely nothing to do with what’s happening behind the scenes. It’s important to separate that from a player point of view and if it needs me to be dealing with some of these things, then that’s OK. It’s about getting focus on what’s really important now which is a Test series against England,” he said.

South Africa will have their task cut out against England, having lost the last two series against them. In 2016, England had beaten South Africa 2-1 in their own backyard before thrashing them 3-1 at home. The Proteas have lost all the five Tests they have played this year and will need to play out of their skin to get a positive result in the upcoming series.

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