François "Faf" du Plessis (born 13 July 1984) is a South African cricketer and a former captain of the South Africa national cricket team across all three international formats. A right-handed top-order batsman known for his composure under pressure and his fielding, he led South Africa during one of the most successful periods of the side's away record against Australia in the 2010s.
| Full name | François du Plessis |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 July 1984 |
| Nationality | South African |
| Role | Batsman; fielder |
| National side | South Africa |
| ODI debut | January 2011, against India |
| T20I debut | September 2012 |
| Test debut | November 2012, in Adelaide, Australia |
| T20I captaincy | Confirmed full-time in February 2013 |
| Test captaincy | Took over in December 2016 |
| Captaincy in all formats | From August 2017 |
| Test retirement | February 2021 |
Du Plessis emerged in international cricket in the early 2010s as part of a strong South African batting line-up that included AB de Villiers, with whom he would share much of his international career. He is widely regarded as one of the finest fielders of his generation and as one of the leading all-format batsmen of his era.
Du Plessis made his international debut for South Africa in a One Day International against India in January 2011, scoring an unbeaten 60. He made his Twenty20 International debut in September 2012, and shortly afterwards earned his Test cap in November 2012.
On Test debut at Adelaide in November 2012, du Plessis scored a century, becoming the fourth South African batsman to achieve the feat on debut. ESPNcricinfo rated his innings among the greatest rearguard innings in modern cricket. In 2020, cricket.com.au judged his Adelaide performance as the best Test batting performance by any batsman on Australian soil since the year 2000.
Du Plessis was named T20 captain of South Africa for the series against New Zealand immediately after his T20I debut, and was confirmed as full-time T20I skipper in February 2013. He took over the Test captaincy in December 2016. After AB de Villiers relinquished the two limited-overs captaincies, du Plessis assumed full-time captaincy across all three formats in August 2017.
As captain, du Plessis recorded a winning percentage of 73.68 in ODIs. He became the first international captain to defeat Australia in Australia across all three formats, and led South Africa to back-to-back Test series wins against Australia, both home and away, in 2016 and 2018. In 2016 he also captained South Africa to a 5–0 ODI series whitewash of Australia, the only such result by an international captain against the Australian side in a five-match ODI series.
In February 2021, du Plessis announced his retirement from Test cricket to focus on the 2021 and 2022 editions of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Du Plessis is regarded as among the most successful international captains of his era, particularly for South Africa's record against Australia under his leadership. His debut Test innings at Adelaide is frequently cited in discussions of modern Test rearguards, and his fielding is considered among the best in the history of the game.