There is nothing like Test cricket, feels http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Faf-du-Plessis-c1427 – Cricket News Update
Having made a significant impact on his very first Test series, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757’s middle-order batsman, Faf du Plessis, has expressed that the five-day format of cricket remains the pinnacle of the game, despite all the hype involved with the sport’s shorter formats.
Since the emergence of limited-over internationals in the 1970s, they have become increasingly popular all around the world. However, the introduction of T20 cricket in the 2000s gave a boom to the shorter versions of the game, with a number of cricket boards all around the world organising their own franchise-based tournaments.
However, a number of former cricketers believe that Test cricket is the ultimate stage of the game, urging the International Cricket Council (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625) to take appropriate measures in order to safeguard the long-term interests of cricket.
Du Plessis, having experienced the five-day format in the recently-concluded three-match Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, feels that Test cricket examines the true mental and physical ability of a player.
He said, “That it’s definitely the form of the game you want to be playing! Everyone always says that Test cricket is ‘real’, that it’s proper cricket and that nothing else compares to it. Now that I have tasted it, I completely agree.”
The 28-year-old cricketer proved his mettle against the Kangaroos, scoring 293 runs in just two matches. It is a great achievement for a debutant versus one of the strongest Test teams of the globe.
Du Plessis made his ODI debut last year and has been a permanent member of the Proteas’ limited-over squad since then. The right-hander plays for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He understands that the shorter formats are great for the sport’s marketing and encouraging the sponsors but said that there is no match to Test cricket.
“I’m not taking anything away from the other forms of the game, but I thoroughly enjoy them, too, but physically and mentally nothing compares,” Du Plessis added. “After five days of battle, like we had at Adelaide, you feel like you have run The Comrades. The last hour in Adelaide was the greatest physical and mental challenge I have ever faced.”
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