Du Plessis unlikely to recover for NZ ODIs

Faf du Plessis appears unlikely to recover from the knee injury - which kept him out of South Africa's T20 series against New Zealand - in time for the ODIs and could sit out the entire three-match series, which starts on Wednesday. The team management is mulling adding an extra batsman to the squad as cover with Farhaan Behardien to take du Plessis' place in the starting XI.

"Faf seems to be struggling at the moment. We are considering bringing an extra batsman into the group but that batsman will be a stand-in in case someone else gets injured because Farhaan was the stand-in," Russell Domingo, the South Africa coach, said. "That means Farhaan will play now if Faf isn't fit and we'll probably be reshuffling our batting order."

Du Plessis had established himself at No. 3 but Behardien is a middle-order batsman, who will probably come in at No. 5 or No. 6. That will likely mean promotions for Rilee Rossouw and David Miller who could come in before or either side of AB de Villiers. With JP Duminy also out of the series on paternity leave, Rossouw, Miller and Behardien all have the chance to stake a claim for a more permanent position in the line-up, but Domingo warned the trio that does not mean he is looking for all-out aggression.

"Not having JP and Faf available helps us with the depth in our one-day batting unit and gives a chance to guys like Farhaan, Rilee and Miller to try and fight for a position," Domingo said. "But not having Faf hampers the stability of our batting line-up. Hashim (Amla) does that stabilising job and then we've got a host of guys who really look to score quickly. So finding the right balance between attack and defence is going to be important for us in the one-day format."

Although du Plessis is occasionally criticised for scoring too slowly, the second T20 was a glaring example of what can happen when his calm influence is missing. South Africa were chasing 178 on an unfamiliar August surface and went at it guns blazing. All eight batsmen who were dismissed fell attempting big shots and no one faced more than 27 balls.

"I was particularly disappointed in the chase. I thought we were a little bit frenetic and there were probably too many shots played," Domingo said.

Behardien was the only batsman to score more than 30 - ending with a career-best 36 - and Domingo took that as indication that he is gaining confidence on the international stage. "Farhaan batted really well - he has worked hard on his game. He takes a lot of flak in the public and in the media but he has got a hell of a one-day and T20 record at franchise level and it was good to see him transfer some of that potential and skill onto the international stage," Domingo said. "He was the stand-out batter for us. He showed really good composure and played some good cricket shots."

With an ODI average of 25.88 after 28 matches, Behardien's numbers have not been outstanding but his domestic record makes for better reading. His List A average is 36.77 with a strike-rate of 93.79. Two seasons ago, he was fifth on the run-getters list in the one-day cup and played an important part in Titans' run to the final, which they were joint winners of after a washout. Behardien has also captained his franchise and has experience stretching back more than a decade, something which is important to a side in transition.

Domingo need look no further than New Zealand as an example. With some inexperienced middle-order players, he noted that "they seem to be reliant on two batsmen at the top of the order - Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill," and that if South Africa can get through them, a lot of their job is done. "Every time we've got them out there seems to have been a little bit of a wobble with their middle order," Domingo said.

New Zealand unravelled after Williamson was dismissed in the first T20 and ended with a collapse of 7 for 40 but coped better in the second game. Guptill batted beyond the halfway mark and James Neesham and Colin Munro accelerated towards the end, which South Africa's middle order, without du Plessis to set them up, could not emulate. Domingo hopes that will change in the ODIs.