Cricket South Africa is ‘uncertain’ whether Faf du Plessis will be back for next week’s first Test against England.

Du Plessis is currently missing the warm-up match against the England Lions due to his wife, Imari, giving birth to their child. The Test skipper became a father on Thursday, which led many to believe he would be available for the first Test starting this coming Thursday. The situation, however, appears to be a bit more complicated than that.

CSA said ‘it was a difficult birth and he’ll only fly back to the UK once the baby and mother are settled’.

It means that, for the time being at least, Dean Elgar will be on standby to captain the side for the first time in a Test match, with Theunis de Bruyn likely to step in as batting cover at No 5.

On a positive note, coach Russell Domingo has flown back to join up with the squad after he spent some time back in South Africa to take care of his mother, who was injured in a car crash a couple of weeks ago. Domingo’s mother remains in a fragile condition, but she’s been released from hospital.