Faf: Through Fire

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Although Du Plessis showed incredible discipline in his cricket career, it wouldn’t be until he turned 26 that that discipline was also a part of his personal life. His Indian Premier League (IPL) career kicked off in 2012, when he played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). An interesting and worthwhile read, Faf telling his story from childhood to 2021 with all the details in a very personal fashion.

It reflects in his decisions early on in his professional career when he turned down a lucrative Kolpak deal that would enable him to play for England, right to the end of his international career when he tried to work with Cricket South Africa to find a way for him to play the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021. Although the book gets a little repetitive at times and loses the grip, it was overall an interesting read, that keeps hooked till the end.

Throughout the book, Du Plessis insists that South African teams are at their strongest when leaders pay attention to soft skills in conjunction with hard skills. Another important team practice that Du Plessis held dear was the “no cell phone” policy for a half-hour after a game. Du Plessis would feel this way when he made his international debut for South Africa in January 2011, shortly after an important culture camp held at Hennops River in Centurion. He also explores the destructive relationships, offering his perspective, in devastating detail, on his final years of international cricket.

The episode left a sour taste in Du Plessis’ mouth, but it was a valuable lesson he learned early in his career, which ensured that he would strive to make young players entering the team environment feel like they are valued members of the setup. Domingo’s empathetic approach to coaching with the phrase “everybody needs love” stuck with Du Plessis and he uses it often throughout the book. However, I found the style the book was written in to be too repetitive and I often wanted to skip a couple of sentences as I had already caught on to what he was trying to communicate.I felt the writing style could have been much crisper, tighter and a more linear pattern of storytelling would have been a better choice. Numerous insights and critiques into the organisational structure and running of Cricket South Africa as well from a former Proteas captain who has all the credentials required for assessing such things.