AB: I thought something was broken

Published Feb 23, 2017

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South Africans had their heart in the mouths for a few seconds when Proteas ODI captain AB de Villiers fell badly during the second ODI against New Zealand in Christchurch.

De Villiers, who has only recently returned from a lengthy injury, stayed down after attempting to field a Kane Williamson push to mid-on.

Instead of bouncing up like he usually does after fielding a delivery, De Villiers clutched his shoulder and was obviously in a severe amount of pain as his feet kicked the ground.

Proteas physiotherapist Brendon Jackson immediately rushed to De Villiers’s attention and produced the “magic spray” that did the trick with the skipper being able to complete the match.

"It's not an injury anymore," De Villiers could joke after the six-run defeat at Hagley Oval.

"It was on my intercostals, lower ribs, on the right. My arm got stuck under my body and it was sore for a minute. Slowly but surely [the pain] started fading away which meant that there was nothing serious, not broken. The minute it happened I thought something was broken, but it was just a hard fall. I am getting old."

South Africa are also not too concerned with opening bowler Kagiso Rabada’s “sore knee”. There have been reservations about the 21-year-old’s workload, especially now that he’s also signed a multi-million dollar IPL deal with Delhi Daredevils, but the Proteas are confident he will be ready to take his place in the third ODI atWellington’s Cake Tin on Saturday.

Further good news on the injury front is that David Miller has fully recovered from the finger injury sustained against Sri Lanka last month. Miller was passed fit to play in the second ODI at Hagley Oval and showed no signs of discomfort while making 28 in South Africa’s failed run chase.

Independent Media

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