After defeating England in the Centurion Test, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has said that the team has gone through a tough phase to achieve the victory.
"It's been a tough season for the Test team, and it's been a while since our last victory," sport24.co.zadu quoted du Plessis as saying.
South Africa won the first Test against England by 110 runs at the SuperSport Park. With this win, the hosts open their account in the World Test Championships standings.
The team gains their first 30 points in four Tests. South Africa now lead the four-match series 1-0.
The 35-year-old said that the players can now trust the system and focus on playing cricket.
"You have to put those things in place for the things underneath to work in your favour. That's a start for us as a team and now we can trust the system a little bit more and focus on playing cricket," he said.
Earlier, Cricket South Africa (CSA) appointed Graeme Smith as acting director followed by Mark Boucher's appointed as head coach until the 2023 World Cup.
In addition, Jacques Kallis was brought in as a batting consultant and Charl Langeveldt was named the bowling coach.
The right-hand batsman said that now we have competent people in CSA which is very vital.
"We've got the right people in the right jobs and we've got the right people at the top of CSA, which is really important.
In Centurion, chasing a mammoth total of 376 runs, England were bundled out for 268 in their second innings on day four. It was the first Test win for Proteas after five successive defeats and sixth consecutive win at Centurion. This is the first time that South Africa have defeated England in a Boxing Day Test.
Both the teams will now face off each other in the second Test at Cape Town commencing on January 3.
( With inputs from ANI )
