Faf puts his body on the line. He's an excellent leader: Chris Morris

After losing the first Test of the 4-match series against England, South Africa was in a desperate need of some positive intent to turn things around in the second encounter. The Proteas’ have made a great comeback in the second Test, owing to their brilliant bowling effort. Chris Morris and Keshav Maharaj have wrapped the strong English batting lineup for just 205 after South Africa scored 335 in the first innings.

At the end of Day 2, Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar were still intact at the crease as South Africa is cruising through with a healthy lead of 205 runs. From such a situation, with time and runs both on their side, it is really a match for the Proteas to lose. After of the end of the second day’s play, Morris heaped praises on the skipper Faf du Plessis who has joined the side after being blessed with his first child.

“It’s quite easy for everyone to say how good Faf is. It’s just his character. He lives for playing for the Proteas and is what a Protea should be. He lives for the team and he leads by example. He puts his body on the line and he doesn’t mind batting for three days to save a Test. When a guy leads from the front, a lot of guys will follow,” said an exuberant Morris.

“Faf is solid and quite clear with his plans and speaks a very good language with the team. He’s an excellent leader. The message was clear from Faf: be aggressive and bowl fast. For me that cleared any doubt on what I needed to do,” he further added.

Morris praised the firm resilience offered by Faf’s English counterpart Joe Root. “On this wicket, you are quite happy with guys coming at you. There is just enough in this wicket for fast bowlers to be excited, and with overhead conditions, with the ball swinging and the way the Duke moves around, we don’t mind guys coming at us. Another day Joe [Root] is going to get 190, and another day he will get what he got today. It was a great counter punch by Joe but we don’t mind it,” he said.

What about 800 as a target?

When the all-rounder was asked about what he thinks is a good target to set for the Englishmen, Morris replied “800? I have got absolutely no idea.” Quickly he framed his answer and gave a more suitable reply by saying “The wicket is playing a little bit. It’s got a bit of juice in it. Whatever overhead conditions are… 200 could be enough on the right day. Obviously, we’ll try and bat as long as we can, and whatever decision Faf takes that we think will be possible to defend. That number, I don’t know. It’s my third Test. I just do the job and let the captain make the decision,” Morris concluded.