Faf questions Proteas mentality

South Africa’s habit of crumbling under pressure is a major concern, according to captain Faf du Plessis. The Proteas flopped at this summer’s World Cup and returning to the Test arena has done little to lighten the mood, losing their series in India 3-0. After a 203-run reverse in Visakhapatnam, the Rainbow Nation suffered successive innings defeats in Tests for the first time since 1935-36 in Pune and Ranchi. Unsurprisingly, the press back home have been less than complimentary and Du Plessis’ position at the head of the team has again come into question. The 35-year-old said on Tuesday that he has no intention of stepping down ahead of the upcoming ODIs, but freely admits that his team’s fragility is a real area for concern. “Our next journey is to try and make sure we get a lot stronger as a cricketing team mentally,” he told reporters. “As you can see, a tour like this reveals that there is a lot of mental scars that can happen, and then obviously it’s difficult to come out of the hole. “It tells me we are not mentally strong as a team and that some work is required in that department.”