Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 61, August 2014 | Page 18

Ma

running & sport

Fitter & Faster

One of the fittest, most dynamic performers in the SA
Proteas cricket team is Francois ‘Faf’ du Plessis, who
also captains the national Twenty20 team.
Modern Athlete’s Nicole Ferreira and
Lauren van der Vyver caught up with him for a chat
about training, playing, captaincy and World Cup hopes.

Nicole:

Having been appointed SA Twenty20 captain in 2013, has
this changed things for you?

Faf:

We will be going to Sri Lanka now, so I have a bit of a break
from the captaincy, but I really enjoy the responsibility that goes
with it. It can get taxing if you are captain of all three platforms,
as Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers were, because mentally, it
eventually takes its toll on a player. I think it is better and more
efficient that the system has now changed, and that there are
separate captains for each discipline. Hashim Amla has recently
been appointed as the new Test captain and AB de Villiers leads us
through the ODI’s.

Nicole:

Faf: I prefer Test cricket, but also the Twenty20, as I enjoy leading
my team. Regarding opponents, no-one intimidates me on home
soil, but the toughest teams are Sri Lanka and India – if you play
them on their turf, they are very hard to beat. The pitches play a big
role and they have grown up in those conditions, and it is a bit of
an adjustment for us when we are over there. Australian pitches are
very much like South African pitches, but in England the ball swings
a bit more and in the Sub-continent the ball spins more.
Lauren:

The Indian Premier League (IPL) fixtures are very
demanding, so how do you manage it all?

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ISSUE 60 JULY 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za

Images: Courtesy IXU Sport

What format of the game is your favourite and what
teams are the most challenging to take on?