Du Plessis wants to win body-language battle ahead of Tests

In targeting a clean-sweep over Australia, Faf du Plessis has promised South Africa will assert themselves with more than just bat and ball in Cape Town on Wednesday. South Africa’s stand-in captain wants to see his boys also win the body-language battle ahead of the Test series.

“As a captain, its important the intensity we play at. That does not always mean verbally, it’s body language and the way you carry yourself on the field,” du Plessis said. “When there is a battle that asks for another battle to come their way, that will happen. We are a team that will stand up against that. If that’s required of us as a team, we will also go into that space, but its a very focused and channeled aggression; more of a body language thing.

The only real needle in the ODIs so far came in Port Elizabeth when Matthew Wade and Tabraiz Shamsi had a verbal exchange that earned both of them a a 25% fine of match fee along with one demerit point. Talk became action when Wade took a single and made no effort to avoid running into Shamsi, who protested.

Du Plessis took it up with the umpires but was proud of how Shamsi stood up. “It’s just showing the opposition you are here to play, no matter how many games you have played,” du Plessis said. “Shamsi …

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