Former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis expressed doubt about Cricket South Africa's (CSA) decision to host the opening Test match against Australia at Kingsmead in Durban. He justified his position by referencing both South Africa's statistics at that venue and issues with match attendance.
Du Plessis is the only Proteas captain who managed to lead South Africa to Test series victories both away and at home against Australia in 2016 and 2018, respectively, following the country's resumption of international cricket in 1991.
The 2018 series was particularly tense due to the Sandpapergate scandal that occurred in Cape Town. Du Plessis himself was previously at the center of the Mintgate controversy when he was accused of using sweets to polish the ball during a Test in Hobart two years prior.
Speaking on his Cricinfo podcast after Proteas lost by 214 runs, Du Plessis noted that he found it difficult to understand why the national team decided to start a major series on a ground where the visitors had demonstrated consistent success.
This loss exacerbated Proteas' recent poor form at Kingsmead, where they lost eight of the last 12 matches. Meanwhile, Australia had also won four consecutive matches at the Durban venue since 2009.
Du Plessis stated: 'I have a big question mark for the South African authorities who make these decisions.' He continued: 'When you have such a poor record at Kingsmead in Durban, and Australia has such a good record—I think they won their last four matches in Durban against us—and you start your first Test there, you are telling your opponents: 'Let's start where you are most comfortable'. '
He compared this to other venues in South Africa, such as Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, and Wanderers, noting that South Africa and Proteas had a higher success rate at all these locations. 'Here is my first question I would like to ask.'
Although Du Plessis' arguments have merit, given Proteas' successes at the venues he mentioned against other teams, the statistics against Australia across the country after the isolation period leave much to be desired.
At Highveld, the Australians performed well, winning five out of seven Tests, which accounts for a 71% success rate at Wanderers, and having an even 50% result in two Tests in Centurion. Even the Citadel Newlands favored the visitors, as the Baggy Greens won four out of seven Tests under Tabl Mountain's watch. Only at St George's Park in Gqeberha—the venue for the second Test this week—did Proteas dominate in two of the three matches played there.
However, Du Plessis believes the issue goes beyond just Proteas' unfavorable statistics at Kingsmead; he also points out that Durban traditionally struggled to attract spectators to Test matches, leading to the Test being moved to Centurion on Boxing Day in recent years.
'Secondly, from a spectator audience perspective, Durban is the venue with the fewest spectators in South Africa,' he stated. He added that all the hype and grand statements before the first Test between South Africa and Australia, which was considered landmark in 2018, were not justified due to the lack of crowds. 'Now they are back, and there are no crowds, and you watch on TV and think: 'No, this isn't good, mate. I don't want to see this. I want to see a full crowd watching this big series'. '
Cricket South Africa was polled regarding the schedule of the Australian series opening at Kingsmead, but provided no comment at the time of publication.
