A Lord’s Test match is on Faf du Plessis’ bucket-list, but the birth of his first child may take priority.

Du Plessis has opted to skip the Proteas’ T20 series against England in the event that the baby arrives early.

His wife, Imari, is expecting the baby to arrive in the first week of July. With day one of the first Test at Lord’s scheduled for 6 July, it could be ‘touch and go’ for the Proteas skipper.

‘I’m pretty nervous, to be honest. It’s now just a countdown for when the baby comes,’ Du Plessis said at the launch of CSA’s Global T20 league on Monday.

‘My wife is pretty certain that she wants to go the normal route, so that takes longer. It now becomes a race for the first Test match,’ Du Plessis said at the T20 Global League launch.

Former captain Graeme Smith returned home briefly during South Africa’s last tour of England to attend the birth of his child in 2012. Fortunately for the Proteas, it fell between the first and second Tests.

Should Du Plessis be unavailable, an interim captain will need to be named, with former captain Hashim Amla or opener Dean Elgar tipped as possible replacements.