30 Intriguing Facts About Faf du Plessis We Bet You Never Knew Before

11 June 2019, 4:09 pm EDT By Ruby Karnick

Faf du Plessis, considered to be one of the best batsmen from South Africa, is currently the captain of the South African national team across all formats. He is fourth South African to score a Test century on debut in November 2012. Here are some little known facts about the South African international cricketer:

The right handed middle order batsman and part-time leg spin bowler is the 35th captain of South African Cricket team and is leading the national team in the ongoing 2019 World Cup at England.
He was born Francois ‘Faf’ du Plessis on July 13, 1984, in Pretoria, Transvaal Province, South Africa. His father Francois Du Plessis played rugby in the Centre position for Northern Transvaal in the 1980s.
His sister Rhemi is engaged to fellow South African international cricketer Hardus Viljoen and he his is the second cousin of Namibian rugby player Marcel du Plessis.
He attended ‘African High School for Boys’ in Pretoria and graduated from University of Pretoria.
During his school days his father encouraged him to take up rugby over cricket. Though Du Plessis liked running with the ball, it was tackling and fear of breaking bones that made him lose interest over the game.
In 2008, he signed a contract with Lancashire as a Kolpak player, whereby he will not be counted as an overseas player. After the change to the Kolpak rules in March 2010, he was not allowed to play.
The county cricket’s loss was Indian Premier League’s gain, as he was signed up by the 2010 IPL Champion Chennai Super Kings for USD$120,000, six times his base price at the Indian Premier League player auction.
He has scored 1853 runs in 64 innings averaging 31.41 with strike rate of 126.74 in the Indian Premier League playing for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant. He is professional T20 player representing Melbourne Renegades, Titans, St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots apart from IPL around the world.
On January 18, 2011, he made his debut for South Africa in a One-Day International against India, at Cape Town. He was the top scorer in the match with 60 runs, before being caught by Virat Kohli of Munaf Patel.
Du Plessis made his entry into test arena in November 2012, against Australia at Adelaide. An injury to JP Duminy gave Du Plessis a shot at Test Cricket and didn’t disappoint with fourth innings century to secure a draw for South Africa.

He is the fourth batsman to score a Test century and first to score a fourth-innings century for South Africa on Test-Debut. He had a score of 78 and 110 not out, to become the first batsman for South Africa to score a century and fifty on debut. He was declared Man of the Match.
In his second test in November 2012, against Australia, he scored defiant 78 not out in the first innings in the company of tail enders to take South Africa to respectable 225 after it had collapsed to 6 for 75.
On December 13, 2012, Du Plessis was named captain for the three T20 international against New Zealand. South Africa won the series 2-1, with Du Plessis contributing 102 runs at an average of 51 percent.
In October 2013, in the second test against Pakistan, he was fined 50 percent of match fee for ball tampering. He was seen on television rubbing the ball on zipper of his trouser pocket. He is the first South African to be charged for ball tampering.
Du Plessis is the first player to bat 100 innings in international cricket without a duck from debut. Finally, in his 108th match against West Indies on December 17, 2014, he scored a duck.
Du Plessis was fined 50 percent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his side’s final league match against Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20. This is the second time within a 12-month period has been found guilty of showing dissent at an umpire’s decision.
He was made the captain World XI team against Pakistan for the three-match T20 Internationals series for the Independence Cup played in Lahore, Pakistan, in the month of September 2017.
In December 2013, he scored 134 in the fourth innings of Wanderers test match against India. His match saving innings is the highest by a South African batsman in the fourth innings of a test against India, as South Africa fell short by mere eight runs.
His maiden ODI century was scored on August 24, 2014 against Australia for winnings cause. Du Plessis scored 106 of 98 balls while chasing 327 for victory scripted a record 206-run third wicket stand along with his childhood friends AB de Villiers.
After recording three consecutive centuries in the 2014 ODI tri-series against Zimbabwe and Australia, he was on course to achieve record 4th ODI century when while on 96, needing to score four runs of one ball was caught.

On January 11, 2015, Du Plessis scored 119 in 56 balls against West Indies, and became the first player to score an international hundred across all formats at the same venue. He scored a hundred in a T20, ODI and Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
He was named captain of South Africa for five ODIs against Australia and scored 111 of 93 balls in the second match on October 2, 2016, to become the second cricketer to score centuries in all international formats as captain. He went on to clinch the series five nil.
Du Plessis became the first South African batsman to score a century in the first day /night test match against Australia. In the same game he set a record of declaring at second lowest total as an unbeaten captain, when he scored 118 not out in the first innings score of 259 for 9 declared.
On December 12, 2016, he took over the test captaincy from AB de Villiers and on August 24, 2017, also became the ODI captain, thus taking charge of South Africa cricket in all three formats.
His career best 185 of 141 balls in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka on February 7, 2017, is the second highest individual score for South Africa. He fell just three runs short of Gary Kirstein’s 188 not out.
On March 6, 2019, Du Plessis crossed 5,000 runs in ODI, in the 2nd match of five match ODI series against Sri Lanka. He scored 57 runs of 66 balls as South Africa went on to win the match.
He was once again accused of ball tampering during the second Test victory over Australia in Hobart in November 2016. Television footage appeared to show him licking his finger and shining the ball while eating a sweet. He was fined along with three demerit points but not banned.
He is Christian by faith who visits Church on a regular basis. Apart from his love for his two pet dogs, Bella and Giorgio, he also likes to race and watch formula one racing.
On November 23, 2013, he married his longtime girlfriend Imari Visser, at Kleine Zalze wine estate outside Stellenbosch near Cape Town. They are blessed with a baby girl, Amelie du Plessis in 2017.
Nicknamed ‘Faf’ and ‘The Marathon Man,’ he amassed 10,158 runs in 272 innings in all forms of international matches. He has to his credit 21 centuries and 57 half centuries.