De Villiers confident Proteas will bloom again in summer

AB de Villiers believes South Africa’s excellent Test record in England will work in their favour again. De Villiers, one of the world’s best batsman, will miss the four-Test series which starts on July 6 to be with wife Danielle, who is due to give birth to their second child. Faf du Plessis will lead a South Africa side sprinkled with new faces and England will be confident of claiming a first home Test series success against the Proteas since 1998. Since then, South Africa have won twice and drawn once in three Test series and De Villiers insists the trend can continue. “I really believe we have a good chance,” said De Villiers, who returns home after leading South Africa at the Champions Trophy and in a threematch Twenty20 series which England which won 2-1. “It’s not going to be easy. The England Test team is pretty settled and they play well in their own conditions. “But we’ve won a few series here in the past, we know how to do it.” De Villiers’ future has been the subject of intense scrutiny given the strain on him being one of the world’s leading players in all three international formats. The 33-year-old is also highly sought after by lucrative Twenty20 franchises around the world and talks are planned on his future before Bangladesh visit South Africa in September. But De Villiers says he still hopes to be representing South Africa at the 2019 World Cup in England.