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Proteas skipper set for milestone in PE

Cape Town -  Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis will play in his 50th Test match in the second Test against Australia at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

READ: Fireworks, close Test expected in PE - bookies

Du Plessis becomes the 19th South African to play in 50 Test matches and will join Hashim Amla (114), AB de Villiers (111), Vernon Philander (51) and Morne Morkel (84) in the current squad to have achieved the feat.

However, the Proteas skipper's personal feat has largely gone unnoticed following the infamous altercation between Proteas wicket-keeper/batsman Quinton de Kock and Australia opener David Warner, which occurred during the first Test at Kingsmead.

Video footage of the confrontation emerged earlier this week and on Wednesday the ICC fined both players - Warner 75 percent of his match fee and De Kock 25 percent.

Nonetheless, both captains have reportedly met ahead of the second Test in an effort to put the focus back on cricket.

READ: Faf, Smith hold "clear the air" talks

Du Plessis will also be captaining the Proteas in his 21st Test match and will be five Tests away from joining third-highest capped skipper Shaun Pollock on 26 Tests.

Other significant milestones awaiting the Proteas camp include Morne Morkel, who will retire from international cricket following the Australian Test series.

Morkel is three wickets away from claiming 300 Test scalps and will be the fifth Proteas bowler to get over the 300-plus milestone.

Proteas opening batsman Dean Elgar needs 123 runs to score 3000 Test runs, meanwhile Proteas seamer Vernon Philander needs nine wickets to achieve 200 Test wickets.

The Proteas trail the four-match Test series 1-0.

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