The Proteas are going to have to speed up the gameplan if they are to win the second Test, says Faf du Plessis.

Almost an entire day’s play was lost to rain to rain on Saturday, but not before Du Plessis secured his fourth Test century.

‘To have a day like this is frustrating because we are in a commanding position and what the rain does is bring the opposition back into the game,’ he said.

‘All it means is that we are going to try and do whatever our plans were just a lot quicker. The nature of the St George’s wicket, and how things normally work here, does take a little bit longer. It’s a slow process so we are going to have to speed it up in terms of how we want to play for the rest of the match. We know there is a little bit of rain around for the next few days.

‘In a four-day match, if you get 450 or close to that, you’re in a good position so that will be the difference now. We were looking at a bigger score but we will have to bring that down to make sure we win the game,’ Du Plessis said.

Much will depend on the variety of the bowling, he added.

‘That’s the beauty of our attack. We have variety in all the different aspects. We have Morne Morkel, so if there is bounce in the wicket, he can be dangerous; Vernon [Philander], if there is movement of the pitch and Dale [Steyn] with pace and reverse swing that can bowl a side out.  Our armoury is strong, and with Imran Tahir, we expect him on day four and five with the wicket being a bit drier to turn the ball.

‘As of yet, the wicket hasn’t spun a lot and once again the weather has slowed that process down. Our four bowlers are good enough and strong enough to bowl any team out twice.’

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