“It now becomes a race for the first Test match”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis faces the prospect of missing the first Test against England, which starts on July 6 at Lord’s, due to the birth of his first child.

The baby is expected to be born in the first week of July and since Du Plessis’ wife Imari has opted for a natural birth, there will be no way to speed up the due date.

“I’m pretty nervous, to be honest. It’s now just a countdown for when the baby comes,” Du Plessis said. “My wife is pretty certain that she wants to go the normal route so that takes longer. It now becomes a race for the first Test match.”

Should Du Plessis be ruled out of the match, the Proteas will be without their skipper and a senior batsman.

If that is the case, it is likely that Hashim Amla or JP Duminy could be made captain for the match, while Theunis de Bruyn could take Du Plessis’ spot on the roster.

Du Plessis’ predecessor AB de Villiers has made it clear that he has no plans to end his break from Test cricket, which is set to last almost the entire year. Furthermore, the 33-year-old’s second child is set to be born in July.