AB’s parting shot as unexpected as the dashing ones
In many ways, the cricketing De Villiers of the last few years has shown a striking resemblance to the footballing Lionel Messi.
between Gibson and the selectors there was the knowledge that De Villiers – who missed half of that series with a knee injury – and Faf du Plessis, who missed five matches with a finger injury, would be returning at some point.
There were even positives drawn from Aiden Markram being handed the captaincy in difficult circumstances and watching him grow over the course of those few weeks, something which ultimately culminated in Markram’s outstanding series against Australia. But the 23 year old will be the first to admit he still has plenty to learn particularly with regards his limited overs game.
Where does De Villiers’ retirement leave SA’s World Cup plans? It’s not entirely a mess, but De Villiers’s unmatched skill, craft and his experience leaves a massive hole in the South African side. He is irreplaceable, but someone has to fill the space he once occupied. Last season against the Indians, the selectors had utilised Markram, JP Duminy and Heinrich Klaasen in the no.4 spot when De Villiers was absent, and it is most likely one of those who will get to occupy the position again next summer.
Certainly for the Titans duo it appears to be a major opportunity. Klaasen made a great impression last summer and played an instrumental role on the rare occasions South Africa was successful against the Indians in the white ball formats. He is an aggressive and innovative batsman – about as close to a De Villiers type player as it’s possible to be.
The 26 year old is a thoughtful cricketer too, and in the Titans environment he’s assumed a leadership position that will certainly stand him in good stead as the selectors start looking for ways to fill the hole De Villiers has left.
Klaasen has been part of the Rajasthan Royals squad at the Indian Premier League where he’s been able to tap into Shane Warne’s vast reservoir of knowledge. Once Jos Buttler, who’d been in sublime form in the IPL, got called up to the England Test side, Klaasen found himself thrust back into the Royals’ starting team and he played a crucial part in helping them to qualify for the play-offs, scoring 32 off 21 balls and picking up a catch and three stumpings in the last round-robin match, ironically against De Villiers’ Bangalore team.
Markram was also tried at no.4 last season, although it wasn’t hugely successful. It may be looked at more often in the next few months as Zondi and Co. weigh up their options. Markram has had all of his success as an opener, but, especially now that they’ve lost such a large chunk of experience with De Villiers retiring, the selectors may want to hold onto some stability and experience at the top of the order in the shape of Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock. So Markram may have to adjust to a different position if he wants a starting spot in the ODI team.
He certainly has the ability to adapt to the middle order, but how he constructs an innings will have to change, and it will be interesting to see if the selectors believe there is enough time for him to learn how to do that. Twenty One ODIs have been scheduled between August this year and March 2019 ahead of the World Cup. In that time South Africa has to settle on a starting team, something which was a huge challenge anyway, but which has been made even more difficult now.
Besides Markram and Klaasen, the other options for the selectors will include Duminy, whose own form at international level has been shaky for a couple of seasons and Khaya Zondo, who was given his first international cap against India. AB DE VILLIERS will never be seen in South African colours again. For millions, that is a grave pity, because few are capable of the astonishing range of skills that Abraham Benjamin de Villiers has in his considerable arsenal.
His announcement on Wednesday left an expression of ‘WTF’ on the face of South Africans who have become accustomed to De Villiers’ indecision on his future. In a world driven by social media, his fluctuations over international commitments have become like status updates. It’s complicated. On a break. Travelling to Bangalore. And yet, more than any other player before him, De Villiers’ requests to manage his body and his schedule were acquiesced, because everyone understood what the 2019 World Cup meant to him. Everyone who follows South African cricket remembers the morning of 24 March, 2015. They remember the raw pain of a team, and they remember the deep mourning that De Villiers and his team went through. That is why his dream deferred to 2019 was collectively understood, his change of circumstances indulged. First came the sabbatical – which some closer to the action maintain could have just as easily been a retirement. That Cricket South Africa went along with the break was testimony to his high standing. It was a dangerous precedent to set, but the public allowed the indulgence because it was AB de Villiers.
His sabbatical was followed by a retraction, before he returned for the iconic summer that has just passed. De Villiers, as if providing a sharp reminder of his freakish abilities, touched the very peaks which confirmed that his batting can live in that rarefied space, where bowlers are just vending machines for his delight. He was head and shoulders above anyone else, even in a season bossed by the bowlers.
That has always been his greatest gift; the ability to make the difficult look easy. His outrageous highlights in the Indian Premier League every year confirm that. He is a freak of nature; half man, half sorcerer. He has treated bowlers of international pedigree with disdain, thrashing and thrilling them away as if he was in the back garden with his young son.
That genius, however, has been tempered with an inability to play a straight bat about his international future. How were we to know that the summer of 2017/18 was to be his swansong? Have we ever really known De Villiers’ next move, ever since that night in Auckland, in 2015?
In many ways, the cricketing De Villiers of the last few years has shown a striking resemblance to the footballing Lionel Messi. Like De Villiers at Bangalore, the Messi of Barcelona is as close to a living god in the city that he plays for. Their replica jerseys litter every household, their adulation crossing every financial or social boundary. Messi, Messi, Messi! AB, AB, AB! Go to the Nou Camp on match day, and then head to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to compare. The frenzy around both idols is just as manic.
Tellingly, they have both come short of unfurling their full genius upon tournaments for their country; never quite able to transform domestic delight into international ecstasy. That torment has driven both to tears. Messi even walked away from international football for a while, so real and raw was the despair.
It was like De Villiers in 2015. Only, Messi has had a change of heart. He will go one more time in Russia. That is what De Villiers had seemingly resolved to do in 2019, too. He reaffirmed that just months ago, after his peerless summer for the Proteas. He said he was feeling better than ever. Quite what has changed since then is hard to understand.
They say that genius is often misunderstood, and De Villiers has provided plenty of confusion over the last two years. Will he, won’t he? As it turns out, AB de Villiers won’t be there next year. There is terrific sadness in that, but there is finality there, too.
It is done, and his parting shot was as unexpected as most of the dashing shots that he has splashed across his cricketing canvas.