A Kolpak contract that aided South Africa

When Faf du Plessis signed a Kolpak deal in 2008, it wasn't because he didn't want to return to South Africa. He left at a time when the player drain was not gurgling as fiercely as it had a few years earlier, when quotas were said to be driving white players away, and he left with an intention some of those players never had - to go back.

"When I signed for Lancashire, I wanted to sign for three years and then not play county cricket again, because by that time I backed myself to be in the South African set-up," he said from the team hotel in Dhaka on Monday. It was a calculation that paid off to the last decimal point as three years later, in 2011, du Plessis was picked for South Africa, the culmination of a journey that started when he was still in high school, with AB de Villiers as his classmate.

du Plessis and de Villiers travelled a similar road, both went to the esteemed Afrikaanse Hoer Seunskool in Pretoria where they were in the same class, both played first-team cricket in their second year of high-school and both were spotted by the Northerns set-up. While de Villiers' career skyrocketed from there, du Plessis hit a plateau and he had to watch while his friend soared into the big time as he was still plying his trade at domestic level, searching for the stepladder.

The South African squad was virtually a lager, tough to break into and du Plessis realised that he would need something more to be able to get through. That was what drove his decision to head to England, where he would play much more cricket in a season that he ever would in South Africa. "In county cricket you play 18 four-day games a season, two one-day competitions and 18 twenty-over games, but in South Africa you play five or six of each. It's a lot of cricket but as a batter you really do learn a lot from county cricket."

At 26-years old, du Plessis has played more than 70 first-class games, so even though he is a relatively inexperienced international player, he has a healthy chunk of match time under his belt. "I played as much as I can so I am more experienced than other 26-year olds. I know my game a lot better than most other guys my age do."

Besides the constant engaging in battle, county cricket also helped du Plessis refine his game against spinners, because of the conditions and the opposition. "In South Africa, it's nice to face spinners because it generally doesn't turn a lot and doesn't get that slow. In England, there is more cricket played on the wickets and they deteriorate more." It was on the latter type of surfaces that du Plessis had to face the likes of Mushtaq Ahmed and being a batsman in the middle order meant that had face those types a lot, and so became fluent in playing spin.

He played alongside VVS Laxman and Mohammad Yousuf and was able to watch how they approach the tweakers. A naturally athletic player, du Plessis was able to fine tune his footwork because of the amount of spin he had to face, to polish his ability on the leg side, particularly with the sweep shot which World Cup viewers would have seen him execute with great success. du Plessis brought back that form and knowledge to the Titans franchise where he has consistently being among their top run scorers.

He usually bats at No. 4 there but his role at the World Cup has seen him move down to No. 6, so that his skills against spin can be maximised. "That's the reason I am here," he said. "I proved that I am not scared of facing spin and I play spin quite well so my role is to get out in the middle order when it's quite tough and the wickets are turning. I have to be solid then and try to keep the scoring at a run a ball."

du Plessis' one half-century in this World Cup, against Bangladesh, came at that rate, not by chance but by careful planning, which involved taking very few risks. Despite having the ability to smash the ball, du Plessis often doesn't unless he feels it's absolutely necessary, and has self-presevation and strike rotation at the top of his agenda. "I try to score a single off every ball, by doing that I am are not giving the opposition the chance to get me out," he said. "If they bowl a few good balls, I know will make up for it with a boundary."

It's maturity alone that allows du Plessis to be able to have this approach and the county circuit gave him that maturity. It's also why he has slipped into the South African side so seamlessly, because he brings an attitude of pre-existing professionalism and big-match temperament. "I never felt like I did not belong here."