Port Elizabeth: South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said on Monday that the fourth and final Test against England could be his last on home soil and he might take Test retirement in near future.
England skipper Joe Root may have failed to deliver with the bat, but the 29-year-old starred with the ball to bundle out hosts South Africa for 237 and help the visitors register an impressive win by an innings and 53 runs in the third Test. The victory helped the visitors take a 2-1 lead in the four-Test series.
du Plessis has been under the pump for failing to score runs in the longest format, averaging 21.25 in 12 innings since October 2019 and not being able to score a century in more than a year. South Africa play only two Tests in the winter, against the West Indies, before the T20 World Cup, which du Plessis has indicated will be his swansong.
du Plessis stats across all formats
Asked if the fourth Test could be his final one at home, du Plessis was quoted as saying by a website: "Yes, most definitely, it is a possibility. What I didn't want to do is make a decision on emotion.
“I have committed until the T20 World Cup. 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 [in July], and the rest of the year is white-ball stuff. Most probably after that, Test cricket will be something that won’t see me. That’s a decision I will make then. For me now it’s to be as strong as possible,” he added.
To Quit ODI Captaincy
du Plessis is also likely to give up ODI captaincy as early as Tuesday, when South Africa name their squad to play England in three matches starting February 4.
"If I am brutally honest with myself, at the moment white-ball cricket is where I am most successful. In one-day cricket, my stats are up there with the best in the world. In T20 cricket, my stats are up there, but at the moment in Test cricket, my stats are not where they need to be. If you leave the team when they need you most, that's not my style," he said.
"One thing that I've always shown is that I have been under pressure a lot of times as a player and I've come through those times. In tough circumstances, I've played my best innings. I think that speaks for itself. I can't leave the team when they need me most, as one of the leaders in the team. We are in a transition, but I can't do it forever and it has been chipping away. For now, it's what we need. I think it will make it worse if I say I'm out," he added.
The fourth Test will be played at Johannesburg from January 24.
