The du Plessis-led South Africa registered a 107-run victory in the first Test in Pretoria, which also ended their run of five successive Test defeats.
Faf du Plessis addresses during a press conference ahead of ICC T20 World Cup in Mumbai on March 17, 2016. (Photo: IANS)
After taking a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series against England, a confident South Africa will be up against the visitors in the second contest at the Newlands here from Friday.
However, home team captain Faf du Plessis has warned his team against ‘complacency’.
The du Plessis-led South Africa registered a 107-run victory in the first Test in Pretoria, which also ended their run of five successive Test defeats.
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“We haven’t really achieved anything as a Test team, as we’ve just won one match. There is a lot that still needs to happen for us to go where we want to go as a Test team,” du Plessis told reporters on the eve of the second Test.
“For me it’s about understanding as a team that the standards need to go up a little bit. We were fortunate that we could get away with a win in Pretoria, but we understand that Test cricket against England will not always go our way,” he added.
“If we take our foot off the gas and complacency creeps in, we’ll go back to playing just ordinary Test cricket. This is the message that Bouch (coach Mark Boucher) and I have been trying to drive home over the last few days, and we’ll keep driving it,” the South Africa skipper said.
du Plessis also confirmed that batsman Temba Bavuma is now fit. However, he would not get back his No. 5 slot in the batting order as Rassie van der Dussen will be given more opportunity to prove himself.
Bavuma has struggled to notch up even a half-century in his last 12 innings and even his batting average slipped to 39.24 from 39 Tests.
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