Proteas captain Faf du Plessis says he is not judging AB de Villiers as a T20 opening batsman as yet because his role is specific to Indian conditions.
De Villiers failed with the bat again in the second T20 against Australia at the Wanderers, as he chopped a John Hastings delivery on to his stumps to be out for 13.
The Proteas were unable to defend a target of 205, which saw Australia win by three wickets to level the series at 1-1 ahead of Wednesday’s decider at Newlands (6pm start).
De Villiers looked in the mood for some serious runs when he stroked a four and six, but another low score at the top of the order came after he was dismissed for a first-ball duck in the first game in Durban last Friday.
Hashim Amla is in top form and would be the ideal foil as an opener alongside the attacking Quinton de Kock, with Du Plessis at No 3 and De Villiers at four, but the skipper wants his best batsman to continue in his current position as he feels it is the way to go on Indian pitches at the ICC World T20 starting later this month.
“If the World Cup was in South Africa, the thinking would be different, but it’s in India and the wickets are completely different and play differently. So if it was not on the subcontinent, I would’ve possibly thought about it differently,” Du Plessis said at a press conference after the Wanderers match.
“But I said before this and the England series that the results of AB going in at the top – for me – are not a direct impact on what we think about for the World Cup. It’s different conditions, and we still feel that he is best suited to go in for those first six overs.”
Du Plessis did eventually acknowledge that if De Villiers continues his lean trot at the World T20, the Proteas will look at alternatives. They could perhaps shift him down the order if the likes of JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien and Rilee Rossouw don’t rediscover their form quickly.
“We decided on AB at the top a while ago, and to change that would obviously be a sign of panic. But on the day, if you get to the World Cup and you feel that form is different, then obviously, you always look to change it. For me, it’s about your best form players in the World Cup, so it’s important to look at that. So, if we feel that one of the two openers are in better form, or both, then you have to look at that,” Du Plessis said.
“But from a structure point of view, in an ideal world, I think our strongest team is with AB at the top, in India. But if all things lead against it, you have to consider it. If form (among the openers) is not an issue and you are struggling to find guys in the middle-order who are in form, then you can look to change and see how you can get AB in there.
“But everyone is in good touch at the moment. Quinny batted really well, Hash is in good touch, AB played really well a week ago against England. So, for now, after he didn’t score runs, to say after two games that he shouldn’t be batting there, I think it’s a sign of panic.
“He is a great player and I am not looking at the conditions here. If the form is an issue with some players in India, then always you can look at it. But for now, we are not looking at it.”
The Wanderers loss ensures that there will be another high-stakes game at Newlands, and while South Africa would’ve liked to have wrapped up the series win already, it actually suits them to be involved in a pressure situation ahead of the World T20.
The Proteas have been superb in chasing down totals in recent months, and came up short in defending 205, so those bowling and fielding skills will come under scrutiny again if they have to bat first at Newlands on Wednesday.
“It’s actually really good as it gives us another opportunity to have a crack at a real pressure game. It would’ve been nice to win the series, but at 1-1, it is nice – preparation-wise – to go into a (series decider) before the World Cup, just to make sure that when the pressure is a little on you, to see how we react to that,” Du Plessis said.
“There’s nothing I would’ve changed. We’ve been on a streak of defending, and the great thing about that is about six months ago, we were challenging ourselves to be better at chasing games, and we’ve been exceptional. We’ve always been a team that’s been better at setting (a score), so it’s great to know now that we’ve prepared for both, we’ve done well and won with both.
“For me, if you bat first, it’s just important to get the runs on the board, no matter how you do it, and we did that today. Yes, you could always look to get five or 10 runs more, but I would’ve taken that any day of the week.
“Just little one percenters we can learn from a bowling point of view. This was a really good deck, which is not something we will find too much in India, so it’s great to go now to Cape Town to see how we can improve our skills.”
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