Cape Town - After the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand last year, a South African captain had to explain to the world once again how his team had failed to progress to cricket’s greatest showpiece.
The media room was packed - still stirred by the notion of having witnessed arguably the most thrilling one-day international in history - and were hungry to unpack the raw emotion of what had transpired.
AB de Villiers had no time to consult his predecessors for advice on how best to handle this situation. No doubt it is the most unenviable duty of being the Proteas national captain.
But like he “left it all out on the field” during that epic contest in Auckland, De Villiers spoke from the heart about the pain. His voice cracking while fielding questions and being forced to wipe his eyes on occasion to stop the tears from streaming down his cheeks, De Villiers could only muster a simple “Yes” when asked if it was the worst day of his cricket career.
undefinedHis more detailed responses later on revealed where this intense pain stemmed from: “My goal is to win games of cricket, to take glory home, and make a difference in the nation’s heart, we didn’t achieve that and it hurts quite a bit. I’m gutted. Lots of people back home were supporting us. We think of all of them, and it’s so bad.”
It is 15 months on since the Eden Park spectacle and, time does indeed heal everything. A lot has transpired - both on and off the field - with De Villiers during this period. He now has the extra responsibility of being captain of the Proteas Test side too, while he’s also become a proud father, of AB Junior.
So, why then revisit arguably the lowest moment in De Villiers’s distinguished career, particularly with the national captain having racked up his 200th ODI on Sunday evening?
undefinedSimply because it would’ve been easy to recollect all of De Villiers’s triumphs, glorify his incredible batting achievements and marvel at his often brilliant feats in the field.
De Villiers’s genius should never be taken for granted - we might not see such a batting talent in this country for generations - but that World Cup press conference sheds light on the skipper’s character and adds even greater credibility to the comments on achieving his latest career milestone.
”I’m not too fussed about those kinds of things,” De Villiers said to the media in Barbados of his 200th ODI appearance.
“Yes, it’s a nice milestone and sort of a way to wake up and to look back at how lucky I’ve been over my career to play so many games and to have been around for so long.
“It is a great privilege and an honour to represent this country and to have played for this long. It’s a huge privilege, that’s all I can say.”De Villiers has certainly played more than just a small role in his team’s success over the years, but batting in limited-overs cricket has not always been as effortless as the world’s number-one ranked ODI batsman often makes it out to be.
undefinedThe trademark “360-degree” batsman we now marvel at in this format was once a young man struggling to cope with the responsibilities of such audacious talent.”There’s no chance that I believed I would be where I am today,” De Villiers said of his struggles as a 20-year-old.
“But I always believed that I had a special talent to perform on this international stage. I just didn’t know I had it in me to be consistent. It was always a problem at the beginning of my career.
”Once I unlocked the door with the help of a few people, I really started enjoying my career and realised I could stay here for longer.”
Now 32 years old, and after having played for 11 years at 65 venues in 20 different countries, and spent 14 000 hours on a field, executed five stumpings, bowled 30 overs and claimed seven wickets while scoring 8 740 runs, hitting 187 sixes in the process, the uncertainty is certainly growing around the question of how long De Villiers intends playing on for.
”The body feels good. I am enjoying it. I believe there is a way to manage it. There are no more or less important tours than others, but maybe less high-profile ones when I could get a rest in the future. I will take it one game at a time. I always take that message from people around me and close to me.”
What is unquestioned, though, is that over the span of De Villiers’s 200 ODIs (and 106 Tests and 72 T20 internationals) is that the blonde boy from the town of Bela-Bela - which in Tswana means “the pot that boils”, a reference to the area’s numerous hot-water springs - has changed the way the world looks at South African cricket.
No longer will the Proteas be synonymous with “boring, formulaic, rigid, character-less” individuals. De Villiers has brought a unique form of excitement, dynamism and chutzpah to the game in this country.
The clear-mindedness of his decision-making, the swift movement of his feet, the brute force of his strokes married with a soft touch, makes De Villiers an irresistible force. The last word should go to De Villiers’s old Affies bunk-mate, Faf du Plessis. He has one word to describe De Villiers. Legend
FIVE INNINGS THAT THRILLED THE WORLD
* 162* from 66 balls v West Indies, Sydney, 2015
* 149 from 44 balls v West Indies, Joburg, 2015
* 119 from 61 balls v India, Mumbai 2015
* 104* from 73 balls v India, Kanpur 2015
* 102* from 59 balls v India, Ahmedabad, 2010
Cape Argus