Stay grounded, cautions AB

AB de Villiers (below) said yesterday that the high-flying Titans are certainly not going to con themselves into thinking they are invincible as they head into the second half of the RamSlam T20 Challenge with an 11-point lead at the top of the standings.

It is a big week for the unbeaten Titans as they take on archrivals the Highveld Lions in the Gauteng derby at the Wanderers tomorrow, host the Warriors in Benoni on Friday and then play the Knights in the Port Elizabeth double-header on Sunday. If the defending champions win all three of those games then they will be assured of finishing top of the table and hosting a semifinal and final, if they qualify.

But De Villiers knows there is still lots of work to be done to get there.

“We’ve had a bit of a run, but every game we have to start over. We’ve seen in the IPL and other tournaments that you can win five in a row and then lose five in a row as well.

“Every team has a weakness or two, we haven’t been exposed yet but our time when we are under fire will come. The derby against the Lions is always special, there’s a great history between these two teams and we’ve had some great games before,” De Villiers said.

He says feeling refreshed has made him run-hungry again – the day is drawing near when the batting genius will return to Test cricket.

“I’m 200% Test match ready right now. I haven’t had an off-season for a long time to work on my technique and there have been times when we’re at the peak of the Test season and I haven’t felt as well prepared as I do now. I practiced for six weeks at Tuks against the red ball, I’ve hit more balls in the nets than ever before and I’ve been able to work on skills I don’t often get the chance to concentrate on.

“I’m really enjoying my cricket again, I’m looking forward to playing,” De Villiers said.

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