Francois du Plessis and Abraham Benjamin de Villiers are diametrically opposed individuals, cricketers and captains.
De Villiers’s batting talents are well known but leadership requires a different feel which Du Plessis seems to have naturally while the latter looks like he chisels rocks for a living when he bats. Their contrasting cricketing ways make all the difference in their leadership styles.
● Daring decision making
In the second test, Du Plessis, in away De Villiers would never do, placed faith in the top order that didn’t fire at Lord’s and batted first. It was a show of trust in a misfiring unit that paid off handsomely. The big scores did not materialise but Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar made their run-scoring felt.
● Constricting the game
Du Plessis knows how to slow a game down. This was absent in the first test where England ’s relatively brisk first innings allowed Joe Root to dictate the pace of the game and create time to wrap up proceedings in four days. The Trent Bridge test also ended in four but South Africa’s drawn-out innings (200.2 overs) asked England to bed in unnaturally. The fact England’s two innings (96.1) was the equivalent of South Africa’s first innings highlighted this.
● Trust in spin
With the amount of cricket played in England this season, spin was bound to play a role and Du Plessis saw this. De Villiers uses Imran Tahir well in limited-overs, but 10 overs and keeping things tight for half a session are two different things. Keshav Maharaj can hold his own as an attacking or holding spinner but tweakers need love. Maharaj has been handled well by Du Plessis and the benefits were reaped as an impatient England side tried to hit him out of the attack.
● Safe hands
Dropped catches cost matches. At Lord’s, Root and Ben Stokes were gifted chances that changed the game. Du Plessis’ assured presence ensured nothing was shelled in the critical slip cordon.
● Team attitude
There ’s a notable difference in how the test team carries itself under Du Plessis as compared to the one-day side under De Villiers. The men in white are more sure-footed and clear of their roles in the different situations...