Durban – AB De Villiers will be keeping wicket in the shortest form of the game through to the end of the ICC World Twenty20 in March/April next year.
Proteas T20 skipper Faf du Plessis, who made this surprise announcement yesterday, added that De Villiers and Hashim Amla would open the batting in the first T20I against New Zealand at Kingsmead tonight (6pm).
Welcoming De Villiers back into the squad after his paternity leave, Du Plessis said: “Having AB keep in the T20Is solves a lot of problems for us. To be honest, it’s something he doesn’t really want to do and there’s no doubt that it affects his (troublesome) back in Tests.
“Keeping wicket in one-day (ODI) cricket is also too much for him from a captaincy point of view. I know he likes being next to the bowlers and controlling the game from there.”
Du Plessis said this plan would only be in place until the ICC World Twenty20 next year before De Villiers gave up the gloves entirely.
The immediate result of this decision is that Morné van Wyk – who might have expected to play in both T20Is and the three ODIs against the Black Caps – is now only likely to play in the ODIs. And with a revived Quinton de Kock scoring back-to-back hundreds for South Africa A in India, it’s looking likely that he will reclaim the gloves for the ODIs and Tests in India in October and November.
Du Plessis said De Villiers would be given every opportunity to get used to batting at the top of the order, an experiment that began in the two T20Is in Bangladesh last month.
“We feel it’s important to get your best, most explosive batsman in first to take advantage of the first few overs. We’re going to stick to that plan for the two games against New Zealand even though your cricketing brain might think that with the ball moving around upfront on fresh pitches early in the season you would want to hold him back a bit.
“But we’re looking at the bigger picture here. AB needs to get used to batting in a new role and I think that he and Hashim complement each other very well.”
Commenting on South Africa’s return home to more familiar conditions after the slow, turning tracks of Bangla-desh, Du Plessis said: “I’ve certainly got a much bigger smile on my face.” Acknowledging that the Kingsmead pitch looked like a “seamer’s deck”, Du Plessis added that that it was a pleasure to be back home. “It feels like we’ve been playing a lot of away tours of late so it’s incredibly nice to be back home, playing in front of home crowds. We’re really looking forward to the next two weeks.”
New Zealand’s interim captain, Kane Williamson, said he was enjoying his brief tenure in the post while regular skipper Brendon McCullum took a break from the game. “It’s been enjoyable and, of course, a privilege,” said the 25-year-old top-order batsman. “It’s also been a challenge leading a new-look side and it’s been important that we gelled and played some good cricket in Zimbabwe.”
The Black Caps have arrived with a somewhat depleted squad in South Africa with the likes of McCullum, Trent Boult, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee and Ross Taylor all rested or injured. The tourists have been at pains to point out, however, that this offers them opportunities to blood new talent and build the depth of the squad.
There’s been plenty of talk about the “new culture” within the Kiwi team and Williamson elaborated on that. “Under Brendon in the last few years, we’ve talked a lot about playing the game for the right reasons, to remove elements of selfishness. Stats play such a big role in the game today that they can influence players’ minds.
“Our biggest thing is that when you come into the team or play for the team, the obligation is always to help the team win and move the team forward to a better place.”
Squads
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, AB de Villiers (w/k), JP Duminy, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Morné Morkel, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Morné van Wyk (w/k), David Wiese
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Grant Elliott, Matt Henry, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Ish Sodhi, George Worker, Doug Bracewell, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Nathan McCullum, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi (w/k), Ben Wheeler
Umpires: Johan Cloete and Shaun George
Match referee: Roshan Mahanama
Start: 6pm- The Star