[Video] "You can get on top of Pakistan pretty easily without Babar Azam's runs" : Faf du Plessis

[MenInG]

Faf du Plessis speaking to the press:

"The unknown factor comes in because we are unsure about what the wicket will do, I think that it is possibly the biggest thing we are unsure about; You look at the games played in Pakistan which was 13 years ago and you try and not read too much into it; So we have as a team tried to prepare for everything and anything, for spin conditions, reverse swing and an element of what it was like 13-14 years ago when wickets were good and flat; We've tried to do as best as we can; If I could call it, I would say that the wicket is more like subcontinental in nature with spinners more likely to be in the game"

"I have only played a handful of Tests against Pakistan - six or so - its difficult to put something specific on it; The last home series we played against them was in UAE where Saeed Ajmal was a challenge for me as young new batter touring the sub-continent, and playing in sub-continental conditions against a high quality spinner where I had to figure out and grow from that tour; I remember very well, that every time I went out to bat, Saeed Ajmal was warming up, and sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and he would be bowling at me; But the last time they toured South Africa, I remember getting a pair in the first Test and I think I got a hundred in the next Test; So you don't read too much into situations like that when you get a good ball earlier in the innings, its about cashing in when you get in; So I am batting well at the moment and feeling good; I just want to play my best cricket and am really excited about this tour as I have worked hard; I am also looking forward to putting in good performances in the sub-continent and do well"

"Obviously Babar Azam back for them is massive boost for Pakistan; I would say he is up there with the top 3 batters of the world at the moment; His last 2 seasons in all formats have been nothing short of remarkable; I feel that team, especially a growing team, if you take out their best batter, it does leave a big hole and his injury has proven that if you take his runs out of the team, it becomes a team that you feel you can get on top of pretty easily; So with him back, it will give the rest of batting line-up and their team a lot of confidence that their best players are back; He will be the first guy from a batting point of view that we make sure we take care of; From a bowling perspective, Shaheen Shah Afridi has been hot for the last few season, so someone like he will be pretty dangerous"

==

JOHANNESBURG – With mystery surrounding exactly what kind of conditions they’ll face in the first Test against Pakistan starting on Tuesday, the Proteas are trying to cover all their bases at training.

“We’ve kind of looked at anything and everything,” Faf du Plessis said on Saturday. “It’s a case of over preparing on; spin conditions, reverse swing balls, and also an element of what it looked like 13 years ago, when there were flat wickets. We’ve tried to do as best as we can.”


There is very little knowledge about what to expect from the pitch at the National Stadium in Karachi where the first Test starts on Tuesday. Thirteen years ago, Mark Boucher, now South Africa’s head coach, played in the Test there when Jacques Kallis scored hundreds in both innings to help set up a comfortable victory.

But with Pakistan under enormous pressure following a poor tour to New Zealand recently, the South Africans are expecting the home team to follow the route used by India and Sri Lanka in the last few years when those teams have faced South Africa and create tracks that assist the spinners.

“I think it will be more subcontinent-like than it used to be in 2007; spinners will be in the game more,” said Du Plessis.

Pakistan’s selection hinted at that, with three frontline spinners, and an extra slow bowler in all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who bowls slow left arm orthodox.

South Africa has struggled against that kind of attack in that region, having not won in the sub-continent since Hashim Amla led the Proteas to victory against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2014. They’ve played 11 Tests in the region since with three draws the best result in that time.

There’s little experience of playing in the sub-continent in the current squad, and Du Plessis’ as one of the few to have played there more than once will be a critical source for information and advice for his teammates. “We are working on a few scoring options, making sure you are looking at two or three ways of getting off strike,” he said.

“The challenge for a batter, is when a spinner bowls a lot of balls at a batter and you feel like you’re stuck and can’t get off strike and he settles into bowling ...if you let him bowl at you he’ll bowl really well so you have to have plans to get ones off him, or scoring options in terms of boundaries as well.”

For the seam bowlers the challenge will be getting the ball into a condition in which they can make it reverse swing - and doing so legally. “The umpires and rules on trying to scuff up the ball have become very strict with everything that has happened,” said Du Plessis, who has first hand knowledge of how strict those rules are including from one incident involving a zip against Pakistan in 2013. “Bouncing the ball in has become less of late...the area next to the pitch is quite moist, so general scuffing up doesn’t happen as it used to.”

https://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/...1-7ecb3dc95df3

Faf du Plessis "Babar's last two seasons in all formats have been nothing short of remarkable" (courtesy CSA) #Cricket #PAKvSA pic.twitter.com/pcv8hdxKJV

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) January 23, 2021

[Titan24]

Faf being honest and blunt here. For Pak to win the series whole team will need to perform as a unit, being over dependent on 2,3 players will be costly.

[Rana]

How many times has SA played against Pakistan where Pakistan have depended on Babar?

[sharmaji]

I think Faf is the only player who can prevent 2-0 for Pakistan. He has improved his batting against spin quite well.

[Rana]

Another Lungi type comment

Seems like SA think Pakistan is only Babar Azam.

[Mesozoic]

Looks like SAF are going into the series with the 'favourites' mentality. And I think they have every reason to.

Not gonna be easy for Pak. Need a lot of things to go in their favour to land a series win and toss will the first entry on that list.

[MenInG]

Another Lungi type comment

Seems like SA think Pakistan is only Babar Azam.

Are they wrong?

[MenInG]

Faf being honest and blunt here. For Pak to win the series whole team will need to perform as a unit, being over dependent on 2,3 players will be costly.

Dont think this is a question of playing as a unit as am sure they will do their best - the bigger question is - are they capable of performing against SA? (without Babar)

[Rana]

Are they wrong?

It does huge disrespect to Rizwan and Fawad who nearly pulled off 5 sessions of survival for Pakistan. Plus Azhar Ali who seems to produce a ton per series.

Lets see, hopefully we will surprise them

[Pakpak]

Another Lungi type comment

Seems like SA think Pakistan is only Babar Azam.

They're not wrong, our batting otherwise is a joke. Saying that, he will get a rude surprise when our flat track bullies on dead pitches score big runs.

[Gullycricket]

This series will set a template and we will get to know how good we really are. Beating Zim etc in own backyard is nothing. SA will be a major challenge despite them being weaker in recent years. Babar is now in the lime light and I have seen our players fail when teams plan well against them. Babar is different and this is his chance to shine.

[Pakpak]

It does huge disrespect to Rizwan and Fawad who nearly pulled off 5 sessions of survival for Pakistan. Plus Azhar Ali who seems to produce a ton per series.

Lets see, hopefully we will surprise them

Rizwan has only done it for one series, you need to do it over and over again like Babar has to be noticed by other teams. Anyone not following our team would hardly know what Rizwan did in one series.

[Nikhil_cric]

This is going to blow back in his face. This may be true in SA but in the SC, you dont need babar azam level batsmen to beat this team.

[Rana]

Rizwan has only done it for one series, you need to do it over and over again like Babar has to be noticed by other teams. Anyone not following our team would hardly know what Rizwan did in one series.

Which I like about this tbf. Let them underestimate.

[Saj]

I attended the press conference remotely and this comment wasn't said in arrogance, rather it could be said that it's the reality.

[Markhor]

Faf pointing out the uncomfortable truth. Batting rests heavily on Babar, and to some extent Rizwan.

This is the worst PAK Test side since the 1960s.

[Ab Fan]

Babar is a legend. One for the ages.

[Pakpak]

Which I like about this tbf. Let them underestimate.

Oh for sure. I think this series should be a good one for Rizwan, I expect him to score big

[Rana]

Oh for sure. I think this series should be a good one for Rizwan, I expect him to score big

Im hoping Babar plays that Kamran Ghulam guy. No way they can afford to not let a bloke who has scored 1000 runs in an FC season to sit at home when you have Faf giving statements like this.

[Firebat]

Laying the gauntlet to our young batsmen who he presumably wouldn't have seen much of. Up to our top order to stand up and prove him wrong.

[Rana]

Azhar
Abid
Babar
Kamran
Fawad
Rizwan
Faheem
Nawaz/Nauman
Hassan
Yasir
Shaheen

Im pumped for this series now that Faf has made this comment!

[UzmanBeast]

A lot of people are reading into the lines of Faf's comments, he didn't mean to disrespect anyone. He was simply stating an observation made that when Babar Azam didn't make runs in New Zealand, it was easy for us to get put under a lot of pressure, even against England.

The point is that we need to win this series, because it will go a long way. If South Africa underestimate us, that is their own business, but we should not be underestimating them by any means. They have good bowlers and a handy batting unit. Their batting top 4 is where the bulk of their runs comes from, whereas on our team, it's the 4, 5, 6, 7 positions that have gotten us runs over the last few tours.

I believe in a simple mechanism for teams to put up good batting performances, if your openers lay a good platform for the middle order, the game is in your favor. If you lose early wickets, you lose the cushion provided by the middle order because one wicket changes everything, the entire scope of the game will end up depending on one wicket in only the 2nd or 3rd session.

As a bowling side, we need to make sure that we execute our plans well. South African openers, especially Markram, are not good against spin, so if they manage to hole out our fast bowling attack, spin should be brought in to give them some trouble. As a bowling side, we'd want Shaheen and Hasan to take 1 or 2 wickets up front to open the middle order, and when that opening is present, South Africa will resort to playing it safe against the pacers only to face Yasir and Sajid/Nauman when the ball is soft.

We have the home advantage, we have comprehensively defeated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at home, but this South African team won't surrender like they did. They will fight till the end, and they are the type of team that knows when to cut their losses and go for the draw. Our bowling must be very good to see us win this series 2-0.

Other than that, it looks to be a good series, and I hope that some of our players can truly step up and put up some good performances so that we can get some confidence back after losing terribly in New Zealand.

[Bewal Express]

We beat SL and BD with mostly pace, we can't beat SA with this pace attack. Their pace attack is better than ours, so we need to produce slow turners but the only problem is that Mahraj is better than any spinner we have. Just produce good wickets and we get runs on the board and the Saffers see this as an annoying tour from which they are desperate to leave.

[mazkhan]

South africa are the favourites

The pakistan bowling is very poor , its not the attack that looks like picking 20 wickets

I don't blame saffers for being overconfident.

[Saj]

Faf pointing out the uncomfortable truth. Batting rests heavily on Babar, and to some extent Rizwan.

This is the worst PAK Test side since the 1960s.

And some not liking the fact that our batting relies heavily on Babar, as we saw in New Zealand.

[Saj]

By the way a steely determination from Faf du Plessis at the press conference.

Calm, confident and focused.

I think the Proteas are pretty confident ahead of the Test series.

[Bewal Express]

By the way a steely determination from Faf du Plessis at the press conference.

Calm, confident and focused.

I think the Proteas are pretty confident ahead of the Test series.

Teams used to fear our bowling, our bowling has no USP anymore. We dont have the pace bowlers, or swing, our spinners dont offer spin or control. Undoubtedly, our bowling is at its lowing point in the recent era.

[Fahdi]

I think batting should be decent enough even without Babar. It's the bowling department which has the most question marks hovering over it.

[Saj]

Teams used to fear our bowling, our bowling has no USP anymore. We dont have the pace bowlers, or swing, our spinners dont offer spin or control. Undoubtedly, our bowling is at its lowing point in the recent era.

He's mentioned Shaheen and Yasir today. I guess those two will have to perform very well if Pakistan are to stand any chance against South Africa.

But yes I agree, there isn't much to be excited about regarding Pakistan's bowling resources these days.

[szrana007]

South africa are the favourites

The pakistan bowling is very poor , its not the attack that looks like picking 20 wickets

I don't blame saffers for being overconfident.

Lol, No, every betting site has odds highly favoring Pakistan for this series.

[Bewal Express]

He's mentioned Shaheen and Yasir today. I guess those two will have to perform very well if Pakistan are to stand any chance against South Africa.

But yes I agree, there isn't much to be excited about regarding Pakistan's bowling resources these days.

Shaheen hasnt developed as i had hope, he doesnt have a consistent way to get Right handed batsman out, when he swings it in ,its telegraphed because its swings from the hand, his bowling lacks aggression to unsettle good players. He has time on his hands and maybe this series is going to be the start.
As far as Yasir is concerned, he doesnt offer control and if batsman play him as a straight on bowler, he also doesnt have a consistent method to get good players out.
I havent been this down about our bowling for a long time, in helpful conditions in England and NZ we failed. We have no way of getting 20 wickets against teams with decent batsman.

[Bewal Express]

Lol, No, every betting site has odds highly favoring Pakistan for this series.

My instinct tells me one thing, but on the other hand the house never loses

[Justcrazy]

The main problem I see with Pakistan is that if they prepare a spinning track , If Pakistan play last , they can struggle against SA spinners

[Cryin Out Loud]

I think Pakistan is going to surprise (in a good way) a lot of people in this Test series. I expect the batting to be a lot more resilient and the bowling far more penetrative than it's been in the recent past.

[Suleiman]

He just painted himself as a target. There’s a bullseye on his torso, toes and head now. Shaheen, Hasnain, and Md Abbas, don’t let him get away with it!!

Can’t roll up to our shores and talk smack to us. Batameezi won’t be tolerated from opposition.

[sharmaji]

I second you. This series will be the beginning of home-domination by Pakistan. I expect Babar, Shaheen, Hasan, Rizwan and Azhar Ali to have a fantastic series.

I also feel that the Indian victory over the Aussies must have also fired up the Pakistan players and team management, given the amount of adulation the Indian team received even in Pakistan.

I think Pakistan is going to surprise (in a good way) a lot of people in this Test series. I expect the batting to be a lot more resilient and the bowling far more penetrative than it's been in the recent past.

[sharmaji]

He just painted himself as a target. There’s a bullseye on his torso, toes and head now. Shaheen, Hasnain, and Md Abbas, don’t let him get away with it!!

Can’t roll up to our shores and talk smack to us. Batameezi won’t be tolerated from opposition.

Md Abbas is not in the squad.

[Geil]

To win test matches and test series u need good bowlers who could bowl teams out twicw in a test match, a weak batting line up can be consolidated but a weak bowling line up cannot be

Pak bowling has to improve and they need to take those catches otherwise it will be a very difficult series for Pak if they bowl and field like the way they did in NZ

[Fahdi]

He just painted himself as a target. There’s a bullseye on his torso, toes and head now. Shaheen, Hasnain, and Md Abbas, don’t let him get away with it!!

Can’t roll up to our shores and talk smack to us. Batameezi won’t be tolerated from opposition.

You need some very capable bowlers for that sort of stuff. Massive question marks over that.

Also I won't be surprised to see Faf have the crowd on his side, since he was the one who led the world 11 team a few years back. They were chanting Du Plessis Zindabad in the stands in those games, he is a well loved guy in Pakistan and may get more backing, if sledged, than the guys on a losing streak. Shouldn't be the case but I won't be surprised to see this if it happens.

[Mamoon]

We beat SL and BD with mostly pace, we can't beat SA with this pace attack. Their pace attack is better than ours, so we need to produce slow turners but the only problem is that Mahraj is better than any spinner we have. Just produce good wickets and we get runs on the board and the Saffers see this as an annoying tour from which they are desperate to leave.

Yasir is comfortably a better spinner than Maharaj in Asian conditions. There is no comparison between the two.

Who ends up making a bigger impact is a different matter, because performances against Pakistani batsmen don’t really count when they are off-color, which is basically most of the time.

Yasir would run riot if he has to bowl to Pakistani batsmen.

[MenInG]

Faf du Plessis has not scored a 100 in Asia and England - so guess pretty keen to reach that milestone

[MenInG]

South African cricketer Faf du Plessis believes spending months in a bio-secure bubble could soon become a major challenge for players.

“We understand that this is a very tough season and a tough challenge for a lot of people out there, but if it’s back-to-back-to back bubble life, things would become a big challenge,” du Plessis said during a virtual news conference on Saturday.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, cricketers have to adhere to strict procedures for an international series. In countries like Pakistan, international games are being played in empty stadiums and players' movement confined to just their hotel and stadiums.

Du Plessis is one of those South African cricketers, along with captain Quinton de Kock, to have experienced life in a bubble over the last few months. He played in the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates and home series against Sri Lanka. Now he has a two-test series in Pakistan, starting Tuesday in Karachi, followed by the second test at Rawalpindi.

“The main priority is to play cricket, to be out there doing what we love instead of being at home … so I think that still remains the most important thing. But I think there would definitely come a point where players would struggle with this (bubble)," du Plessis said.

“If you look at a calendar of the last eight months, you’re looking at about four or five months in a bubble, which is a lot. For some of us (being) without family, it can get challenging. Right now, I’m still in a good place. I’m still feeling really motivated and driven, but I can only speak for myself.

“I don’t think it’s possible to continue from bubble to bubble to bubble, I’ve seen and heard a lot of players talk about it. I don’t think it’s sustainable.”

The South African team practiced at the National Stadium -- the venue for the test opener -- for the first time on Saturday. Before that, the visitors had been practicing at a stadium close to the team hotel for the last four days where they played intra-squad matches.

“For now, (I'm) enjoying the four walls of my room and then the pitch outside where we can get to do what we love,” du Plessis said.

The 36-year-old du Plessis, who has appeared in 67 test matches for South Africa with a batting average topping 40, will be playing his first test in Pakistan since making his debut against Australia in 2012. Pakistan last hosted South Africa in 2007. In 2009 international cricket’s doors were shut on Pakistan after an attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team bus at Lahore.

Du Plessis has played seven test matches against Pakistan that included two in the UAE and five in South Africa.

Du Plessis is South Africa’s most experienced player touring Pakistan, but wasn’t sure what type of wickets will be prepared for the two tests.

“I think that’s possibly the biggest thing that we are unsure about,” he said.

“As a team we try to prepare for everything and anything, overprepare, spin conditions, reverse swinging ball … if I have to call it, I probably said I think that wickets will be a bit more subcontinent like than it used to be back then (in 2007), so spinners would probably be more a little bit more in the game.”

Du Plessis has picked fit-again Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam and fast bowler Shaheen Afridi as the two players who could pose problems for the tourists. Babar has regained fitness from a fractured thumb — in his absence Pakistan lost both the Twenty20 and test series in New Zealand.

“Obviously, having Babar back is massive for them,” du Plessis said.

“Afridi has been getting a lot of wickets, so probably someone like him would be pretty dangerous.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/crick...424273573.html

[shaz619]

Naf Du Zippy sounds very determined and focused, bad news for Pakistan

[Ami]

I can't believe some people have us as favourities? ..Based on what?

South africa are definitely a better side...!

Apart from Babar and Rizwan we have no other reliable batters to speak of, even at home.

As for bowling, obviously Afridi, and as far as Yasir is concerned this is not UAE.

[Amjid Javed]

Fafs comments are right aside from babar our batting is minnow like lets be honest. The rest of batting whether its newbies or established batsmen will need to get runs in this series.

Biggest worry is openers as i can see us losing early wickets in both games which then exposes the middle order.

[Snowflake]

It does huge disrespect to Rizwan and Fawad who nearly pulled off 5 sessions of survival for Pakistan. Plus Azhar Ali who seems to produce a ton per series.

Lets see, hopefully we will surprise them

Rizwan and Fawad haven't done anything yet to gain respect from the opposition. Azhar Ali has been going downhill for a while now - a good knock in a sea of ordinary ones is hardly scary for oppositions.

[ManFan]

Finally, a cricketer that is curt and honest.

Love Faf.

Hope they whip this PAK side that does not care about its fans or the prestige of wearing the Cap.

[Thunderbolt14]

Rizwan has only done it for one series, you need to do it over and over again like Babar has to be noticed by other teams. Anyone not following our team would hardly know what Rizwan did in one series.

He won man of the series in England and scored well in Australia last year against Cummins, Hazlewood.

[Thunderbolt14]

And some not liking the fact that our batting relies heavily on Babar, as we saw in New Zealand.

Openers and Haris Sohail aside, everyone stepped up. The real issue was our bowling

[Saj]

Openers and Haris Sohail aside, everyone stepped up. The real issue was our bowling

That's 3 out of the top 4. Not much left is there.

You don't win Tests with most of your top order flopping.

[Hasan123]

Even Babar has a lot to prove in tests and in difficult situations against top teams.

[Pakpak]

He won man of the series in England and scored well in Australia last year against Cummins, Hazlewood.

I am not doubting his quality. I am saying he's not a household name or a fear factor for the opposition. He needs to be year in year out from here on. Even with Babar we all knew how good he was, but he was only properly noticed in the last couple of years.

[Golden arm]

Azhar
Abid
Babar
Kamran
Fawad
Rizwan
Faheem
Nawaz/Nauman
Hassan
Yasir
Shaheen

Im pumped for this series now that Faf has made this comment!

Excellent choice. You have good batting options until No. 10 but including Nawaz will be bit defensive. I don't think he can get us 10 wickets. Sajid or Nauman can help in this role.
Another weak link in bowling could be faheem. Not sure how effective his bowling would be in subcontinent conditions.

[Cryin Out Loud]

I can't believe some people have us as favourities? ..Based on what?

South africa are definitely a better side...!

Apart from Babar and Rizwan we have no other reliable batters to speak of, even at home.

As for bowling, obviously Afridi, and as far as Yasir is concerned this is not UAE.

I don't consider Pakistan to be favourites, just that I won't be massively surprised if Pakistan draw it 0-0 or even edge a hard fought 1-0. Here are my reasons:

A. Recent past performance: As an Indian fan I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were multiple times when Pakistan competed well against NZ. To me that was proof that Pakistan actually has a solid core of Test players (notice I say 'solid', I'm neither saying they're brilliant nor crap)

- Batting: Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Mohammed Rizwan. Add Babar to that list and the middle order improves by 50%.

- Faheem Ishraf slots in as all rounder

- Pace Bowling: Shaheen Shah Afridi leads the attack, obviously

Thus the guys who fit straight in are pretty decent bunch

Babar
Azhar Ali
Fawad Alam
Mohammed Rizwan
Faheem Asraf
Shaheen Afridi

B.The final XI: I don’t know what it will be but it seems to me that, it would still be a pretty solid team. Hassan Ali (Basis what I read of his recent performance) slots in, and I'm guessing Yasir Shah also will make it

1. ? (I haven’t personally observed any of the other names in the list of batsmen)
2. Abid Ali (he was soaking up balls if nothing else in NZ, and it’ll be easier in home conditions)
3. Babar
4. Azhar Ali
5. Fawad Alam
6. Mohammed Rizwan
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Shaheen Afridi
9. Hassan Ali
10. Yasir Shah
11. Another spinner (don’t know enough about the other two chosen)

That’s a side that can compete, IMO, especially if Pakistan make the pitches to suit them.

C. The SA team:. I just did a casual check of how this team has performed in Asian conditions, and it ain't all roses. I just took a look at the likely players.


Batting:

1. Markram: Away average in India and SL, 11 and 10
2. Bavuma : Away average in India and SL , 19 and 23
3. Elgar: Away average in India and SL, 30 and 23
4. De Kock: Away average in India and SL, 26 and 22
5. Du Plessis: Away average in India and SL, 15 and 33

Of these I personally rate only 3/4/5

Bowling:
1. Rabada: Away average in India and SL, 44 and 23
2. Ngidi: Away average in India and SL, no wicket and 63 (but it was one Test each)
3. Maharaj: Away average in India and SL, 85 and 25
4. Shamsi: Away average in India and SL, Not played and 32

Not too much data to talk about Nortje (179 average in India in the one test).

Conclusion: Now these are only stats, and no doubt people will point to India's bowling/ batting to rubbish those stats. Also SA will bring in a few new guys/ pacers. They have quality world class players. Their bowling will be hostile.

But I do not think it will be a walk in park. These are home conditions for Pakistan. They're playing in Pakistan after years. That will be a factor. Pakistan has a solid team, and if Faf thinks that he can blow them away if they get rid of Babar, well, I think otherwise.

I think it will be a closely fought series.

[Minnowbasher]

Are they wrong?

I would argue yes they are wrong. Our batting wasnt great on tour of New Zealand but wasnt any worse than it usually is even with Babar in the team. We were still scoring between 250 and 300 and we had players like Rizwan, Azhar and Fawad step up.

I back most of our batsmen to bat well in this series as its at home in familiar conditions. The problem for us recently has been our shambles bowling and fielding. Conceding 650 in NZ is just not on - minnow level bowling in that series considering conditions were supposed to be bowling friendly.

[Minnowbasher]

Even Babar has a lot to prove in tests and in difficult situations against top teams.

100%. He is being massively overrated by Faf here. He was ordinary on Pakistans tour of England and still only has 5 test centuries. Once he gets past 10 centuries maybe he can be considering a top 3 test bat but atm he's nothing special in tests.

To be fair to him he hasnt played much test cricket - pakistan dont play very often and only tends to be 2-3 test match series as opposed to people like kohli and smith who play 4-5 test match series.
Makes a big difference as the more high quality cricket you play the better you become.

[Hasan123]

100%. He is being massively overrated by Faf here. He was ordinary on Pakistans tour of England and still only has 5 test centuries. Once he gets past 10 centuries maybe he can be considering a top 3 test bat but atm he's nothing special in tests.

To be fair to him he hasnt played much test cricket - pakistan dont play very often and only tends to be 2-3 test match series as opposed to people like kohli and smith who play 4-5 test match series.
Makes a big difference as the more high quality cricket you play the better you become.

Even in ODIs, 3 out of his 12 centuries have been in SENA. I'm sorry but if he was English or Indian our fans would say he is overrated and other stuff.

Lots to work on for Babar but he can certainly do it.

[Titan24]

Dont think this is a question of playing as a unit as am sure they will do their best - the bigger question is - are they capable of performing against SA? (without Babar)

I think in home conditions with regards to batting they may just be capable enough.

[Saj]

Babar averages 36 against South Africa in Tests - I'm sure he'll be looking to improve on that in the upcoming 2 Tests.

[JibranAnsari]

South africa are firm favourites , babar azam wont make much of a difference when bowling is not able to take 20 wickets. Yasir shah cant give enough revs to ball these days and rest of the spinners are untested. Only afridi is the real threat.

[Hitman]

Babar averages 36 against South Africa in Tests - I'm sure he'll be looking to improve on that in the upcoming 2 Tests.

And some fans claim he ended Dale Steyn's career with his average of 36 against his team.

[MenInG]

Well here's the test for Pakistan batting - SA seem to have their work on Babar.

[Rana]

Babar scored 33 runs in this match, and Pakistan still wiped the floor with South Africa

[Rana]

Another Lungi type comment

Seems like SA think Pakistan is only Babar Azam.

Will Lungi and Faf play the next Test?

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

You can get on top of South Africa pretty easily without Faf's runs.

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Babar scored 33 runs in this match, and Pakistan still wiped the floor with South Africa

Coincidentally Faf also scored 33 runs in this test match.

[SensiblePakFan]

Coincidentally Faf also scored 33 runs in this test match.

The beauty of Test cricket

[Rana]

Where are all those who were abusing, bullying Naseem Shah for saying something like “I want to see fear in the batsman’s eyes”?

So a well educated, privileged bloke like Faf Du Plesis has just been made to look so stupid and ill-informed with this comment yet we don’t see it being used against him

[Firebat]

You can get on top of South Africa pretty easily full stop

[Mamoon]

Where are all those who were abusing, bullying Naseem Shah for saying something like “I want to see fear in the batsman’s eyes”?

So a well educated, privileged bloke like Faf Du Plesis has just been made to look so stupid and ill-informed with this comment yet we don’t see it being used against him

The difference is that Faf is a credible cricketer with notable performances in all formats of the game. He is also a former captain.

Naseem has done nothing in his career and probably never will. He does not even have 1% of the achievements Faf has at this level.

When a nobody like him makes such statements before achieving anything, he is bound to be criticized.

Faf at this stage of his career does not have to prove anything. He is a solid B grade cricketer who is on the brink of retirement anyway.

[Ab Fan]

Faf showed good potential initially in his test career with a couple of clutch knocks during the early years. It looked like he is a perfect foil to Amla and ABD.

But unlike those two, he never really had the consistency and in the last 4 years, Faf has gone even further downhill with mostly a few centuries here and there on flat wickets against weak opponents like SL.

In my opinion, he has been a letdown for South Africa as he has failed to achieve the potential or glimpses of the potential that he showed up during the initial years.

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Faf told the truth but SA are poor to compete even without Babar's runs.

[Rana]

The truth is, if you don’t get Fawad and Rizwan when Pakistan are against the ropes, then these two will still push the score to something decent. Love how the Pakistan lower order completely floored this South Africa side that has not done any research prior to the game

[CleverSir]

The truth is, if you don’t get Fawad and Rizwan when Pakistan are against the ropes, then these two will still push the score to something decent. Love how the Pakistan lower order completely floored this South Africa side that has not done any research prior to the game

Well to be fair to them, even we've been surprised by the strength of our middle-lower order lately.

[MenInG]

Babar has a problem against left-arm spin - needs fixing by Pakistan asap! He is a very important part of the batting lineup and Faf is right.

[Yk313]

Babar has a problem against left-arm spin - needs fixing by Pakistan asap! He is a very important part of the batting lineup and Faf is right.

Would it be possible to have PP sources or relevant people put the question to him in the build-up to the 2nd Test? Just to see where and how he feels he can improve upon it.

His 'defensive' technique looked like that of SENA players in Asia who tour and just plant their leg with the bat adjacent to it, hoping for the best.

Cannot recall a batsmen with such a wonderful eye and coordination being flummoxed with one of pace or spin. Especially one with origins in the subcontinent failing to pick variations out of the hand.

[Rana]

You cant get on top of Pakistan because WEEEEE Have Faheeeeeeeem

Rana Faheeeeeem

I just dont think you understaaaaaaand

Hes Micky Arthur's man
He Bats like Klusenar Can

We Have Rana Faaaheeeem!

[Mamoon]

You cant get on top of Pakistan because WEEEEE Have Faheeeeeeeem

Rana Faheeeeeem

I just dont think you understaaaaaaand

Hes Micky Arthur's man
He Bats like Klusenar Can

We Have Rana Faaaheeeem!

He scored 29 runs.

[Rana]

He scored 29 runs.

Do you follow cricket matches on cricinfo or actually watch them?

[Ab Fan]

Whether you get on top of South Africa or not, you will easily get on top of Faf even if you are just a decent bowler.