FORMER Proteas batsman and current national selector Ashwell Prince has expressed his concern over the uncertainty surrounding Test captain AB de Villiers’s long-term international future.
Although De Villiers stated after the crushing defeat to England in the third Test at the Wanderers on Saturday that “I was never thinking of leaving Test cricket at all”, Prince believes the speculation that started at the beginning of the series in Durban late last year is not helping a Proteas team that is currently in transition.
Prince, who played 66 Tests for South Africa from 2002-2011, was also particularly despondent about De Villiers’s statement “I almost feel like all hope is gone” after the series was lost at the Wanderers.
“I feel that it is very disappointing... the messages coming out in the media about AB not enjoying the game, about whether he is going to play, and how long is he going to play,” Prince said in an exclusive interview yesterday.
“And obviously that comment that ‘all hope is gone’. If I was a young player in the team, I would be concerned about what the captain is saying. Does that mean he has no faith in me as a young player?”
De Villiers has long courted the Test leadership reins, and publicly expressed his disappointment when Hashim Amla was chosen ahead of him back in 2014 as Graeme Smith’s successor. And it was only last week that De Villiers, upon being handed the reins, stated he was fulfilling “a lifelong dream” after Amla stepped down after the second Test at Newlands.
Prince believes the time has therefore arrived for De Villiers to show that he indeed still has that passion and desire to lead a Proteas team that will need to grind out results and simply not roll over the opposition like they did during their reign as the world No 1 Test side.
“People say we don’t have Graeme Smith anymore, Alviro Petersen, Jacques Kallis, etc… so AB is not batting behind all those types of guys anymore. That means there is even more responsibility on his shoulders as a batsman.
“Now more than ever his performances are more important,” Prince said.
“We don’t have the names that people are throwing about, so especially in terms of where the team is at the moment – our backs against the wall – his performances are going to become even more important than they were in the past. The country needs him now more than ever.
“Sometimes with playing cricket, it is not about scoring runs or taking wickets against teams that you know you can roll over. I think this is the challenge that England are presenting South Africa with at the moment. You are up against a team that you know can match you for skill.
“They can match you for mental toughness. They can match you in every department. And... overcoming those situations and those challenges... is important.”
Although the Proteas have already surrendered the series and their world No 1 Test mace, Prince is not entirely downbeat about the state of South African cricket. The impressive performances of youngsters Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada and Dane Piedt during the Test summer would also have provided hope that the Proteas can lift themselves from the quagmire they currently find themselves in.
“It has been really difficult in terms of not having your senior players available. Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander in particular. It has been very difficult (selecting a team), but with injuries come great opportunities for younger players. I think of a guy like JP Duminy really taking his chance all those years back. And other players have been injured in the past and it is a great opportunity for younger players,” Prince said.
“In terms of playing international cricket is not just your skill level that is tested. Unless you’ve played at a higher level, you don’t know a person’s character until it is tested.” - Cape Times