Du Plessis can tell in which direction the ball has been struck through sound alone. “When the ball is hit through the offside [to the right of a right-handed player] there is definitely a sharper crack to it, as opposed to when the ball is played away through the legside, where it is more muffled,” he says. “You can tell when someone has bowled a yorker [a fuller delivery] because of the way the batsman has to bring his bat down on the ball quickly.”

He is able to pick up new players’ styles quickly. “Normally, after about a game, I know who they are. It’s normally the bowlers who I recognise a bit quicker than the batsmen.

“I can tell who the batsmen are by the way they say ‘Yes’, ‘No’, ‘Wait’. But again it will take a bit of time. Whereas for some reason, bowlers’ run-ups I am able to pick up quite quickly, or the way they grunt when they deliver the ball.”