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Faf in a race against time for Lord's Test

London - Faf du Plessis is in a race against time to be available for the first Test against England at Lord's. 

He is not unfit, but rather awaiting the birth of his first child. 

Du Plessis, the Proteas' Test captain, made a quick dart to London on Monday to be unveiled as the marquee player for the Stellenbosch franchise in South Africa's T20 Global League. 

But, as soon as the launch was done, Du Plessis was heading back to South Africa to be with his wife, Imari. 

"I'm pretty nervous, to be honest," Du Plessis said of what awaited him in the weeks ahead. 

"It's now just a count down for when the baby comes. 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 has never played a Test at Lord's before and he described it as a "pretty big deal". 

Should he not play in that match, the Proteas would have some thinking to do in appointing a replacement captain. 

AB de Villiers will not be taking part in the series while Hashim Amla has made it clear that he does not want the captaincy. 

Other options would likely be Dean Elgar and JP Duminy. 

The Lord's Test gets underway on July 6 and is the first of four Tests in the series. 

Before that, the Proteas will take on England in three T20Is this week.

*Sport24 journalist Lloyd Burnard is attending the launch as a guest of CSA...

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