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A man and his dog were at Newlands on Wednesday afternoon but not to make up the proverbial crowd that usually attends domestic first-class matches here. The man was Faf du Plessis, who was making his first appearance as the new permanent Test captain. The dog was Giorgio, his nine-year old dachshund, who had a back operation earlier this year after becoming temporarily paralysed and now has his hind legs in a harness.Together they walked the outfield that is now du Plessis domain; the outfield on which South Africas captaincy conundrum has come full circle.It was on this ground that Hashim Amla announced he would not continue to captain, opening the door for AB de Villiers to do the job he always wanted. It was also on this ground that du Plessis, standing in for an injured de Villiers, led South Africa in completing a 5-nil ODI series whitewash over Australia to begin the conversation over whether the leadership role needed to be looked at again. And it was on this ground last Thursday that du Plessis played for the national cricket side against the national rugby side and afterwards found out that de Villiers had made the decision to give up the captaincy before anyone else could make it for him.I got the call just after the Proteas game against the Boks that AB is going to stand down for the Test matches, du Plessis said. I spoke to him that evening and I phoned him the next day just to make sure. My policy will always be one of being really honest, so it was just speaking as friends would do about going forward.De Villiers decision came on the back of his own injury problems. He has not yet recovered from an elbow problem and hasnt played for South Africa in almost six months, since their triangular series in the Caribbean. In that time the team have found the drive they lacked last summer and they have started winning again. It is obvious that they have got a good thing going and de Villiers did not want to stand in the way of that developing.AB has been amazing, du Plessis said. He has always been a guy that puts the team first, as youve seen by his making this decision. To be part of something like that says a lot about our culture but also shows a lot about AB as a person and how he values the team above himself. Du Plessis stressed that having his old schoolmates backing is the crucial to his captaincy. Thats something he said to me, that he will always be there no matter what and he will always back me. It was great to hear that from him. I got a call from Hashim as well, to say well done. Hashim passed it on to AB and then AB passed it on to me.While Amla has completely relinquished armbands of any description - except when leading du Plessis defense against ball-tampering - de Villiers remains in charge in some capacity. He is the ODI captain and should return to that role mid-January, when South Africa play Sri Lanka as they start their planning for Junes ICC event. Du Plessis has promised to offer him reciprocal commitment. AB is still captain in ODIs and I am really excited about that because he wants to win that Champions Trophy and I will be completely behind him, du Plessis said.Little else could be expected from two men who knew each other before the world knew either of them, more than two decades ago. To outsiders its a bromance between school-friends turned international team-mates but to South Africa, it means adjusting between captains. Split leadership was in vogue a few years ago but more recent thinking - including Graeme Smiths appreciation for streamlining the captaincy - has suggested it could be a curveball. Du Plessis played that down, saying the only difference between de Villiers and him is that his friend is the brightest star in South Africas sporting sky while du Plessis is just one of the troops - albeit one who has the teams buy-in. AB leads from performance - he is a guy that every time he steps onto the field, you want to be better as a player because he is that good. He is a freak when it comes to cricket. He always puts himself out there and he gives 150%, so its easy for a team to follow that, du Plessis said. My style is a little bit different to that. I am not as good as AB is, so I have to rely on other qualities. I try and challenge a team as much as I can. For me its harder work, I suppose.But its also work that du Plessis loves. He has long said captaincy brings out the best in him and he has proved it with two hundreds in five Tests as stand-in captain. The longest format is his first love and leading in it gives him his greatest joy.Being a Test captain is almost the first time when people really take you seriously. T20 is like fun, the X-factor of cricket. Test cricket is, for me the most enjoyable time to be a captain because you have to work on plans for a long period of time, you have to strategise how you are going to get guys out and continuously challenge guys over a long period of time, du Plessis said. Its a huge honour and I will be taking it very seriously.Just at that moment, things became completely un-serious. Giorgio grew restless, shifted between the cameras and the reporters, wandered towards the pitch and eventually sat at du Plessis feet, looking up with puppy eyes and whimpering. His wish was du Plessis command. Mid-interview, Giorgio was lifted off the floor and cuddled. Between this man and his dog, theres no doubt who the real boss is. Swell Flaske Marble .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Swell Traveler Mug . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. http://www.swellflaskenorge.com/swell-flaske-blomster.html . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Swell Norge .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Swell Flaske Salg . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. LOS ANGELES -- Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov already looked comfortable with the Philadelphia Flyers from the first moments of their NHL debuts.The Flyers all made themselves quite comfortable at Staples Center in an impressive season opener.Boyd Gordon and Sean Couturier scored 48 seconds apart to kick off a four-goal second period in Philadelphias 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.Couturier got two goals, Mark Streit also scored and Michal Neuvirth made 23 saves as the Flyers took a 4-0 lead and cruised to a win in their season opener for the first time since 2011.But even after running over the two-time Stanley Cup champion Kings, the Flyers veterans mostly wanted to talk about 19-year-old rookies Konecny and Provorov, two first-round draft picks from 2015 who cracked the Philadelphia roster in training camp.Its awesome having them here, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. They bring an element I dont think we necessarily had last year. Theyve got speed, and they can make plays.Konecny had two assists, setting up both of Couturiers goals with nifty plays. Provorov added another assist on Streits goal.I can play better, and Ill play better (Saturday), Provorov said. You expect the best. Its the best league in the world. (Los Angeles) came out hard. We weathered the storm and started to play our game.Drew Doughty and Brayden McNabb scored in the home opener for the Kings, whose 50th anniversary season is off to an 0-2 start after a strong first period led to a dismal second against Philadelphia.We were turning over pucks, giving odd-man rushes and had a few bad changes, said Doughty, last seasons Norris Trophy winner. It was one of the worst periods we have played as a team in a long time.Jeff Zatkoff made his home debut with 26 saves in his first game as the Kings presumptive starter in the absence of Jonathan Quick, the Vezina Trophy finalist. Quick is out for several weeks with a groin injury, but Zatkoff wasnt the Kiings biggest problem while his teammates repeatedly left him without help through poor decisions.ddddddddddddQuick) is arguably the best goalie in the NHL, but we cant do anything about it, Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar said. We have to play hard and play with what we have.The Kings opener went downhill from the pregame ceremony to kick off their landmark 50th anniversary season. The Flyers, who entered the NHL alongside the Kings in the leagues Second Six expansion, also celebrate their 50th this year.Los Angeles welcomed back several members of its original team and other stars from the franchises founding days. Every former player with a number retired in the Staples Center rafters made an appearance, including Wayne Gretzky.The Flyers couldnt put a shot on Zatkoff until Streits tame try 13 minutes into the first period, but Gordon started the scoring for his new team early in the second after the Kings made a poor change. Couturier then scored consecutive goals 7:21 apart.Streit capped the barrage when the Swiss defenseman banked a shot off the back of Zatkoffs head.Doughty finally snapped the Kings 97 1/2-minute scoreless drought late in the second, and McNabb scored early in the third.Game notes Flyers D Shayne Gostisbehere was cut on the right cheek by Kings F Kyle Cliffords skate early in the first period, but stayed in the game. I was just thankful it wasnt worse, said Gostisbehere, who didnt need stitches. Ill take this any day over what could have happened. ... Kings F Tanner Pearson finished his two-game suspension for a preseason hit on Edmontons Brandon Davidson. ... The Kings sold out their 173rd consecutive regular-season home game.UP NEXTFlyers: A three-game road trip continues Saturday night at Arizona.Kings: Theyve got the weekend off before they open a two-game road trip at Minnesota on Tuesday. ' ' '