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AB de Villiers has been the ghost at South Africa’s feast during their tour of England, but his chirpy presence on social media has hinted at a conflicted mindset

Firdose Moonda at Old Trafford06-Aug-20172:39

Talented South Africa haven’t performed

Twenty-eight tweets. More than the batting average of half the South Africa top six on this tour.Almost 4,000 characters. Greater than the total number of career runs of three of the current top four.As much as South Africa should not be bogged down by looking at what they don’t have, AB de Villiers’ social media presence has served as a constant reminder of what could have been.Currently on a sabbatical from the longest format, and one that seems certain to end in retirement when a new coach is announced before the home summer, de Villiers has spent this series as a cheerleader, spurring his mates on – a clown-doctor of sorts, trying to make them smile even though their problems need more than jokes to fix, and a confused elite sportsman, whose tone carries a hint of conflict between country and commercial obligations that compete for space on his timeline, and in his life.De Villiers’ first tweet came before 5am on the opening morning of the series. Perhaps that’s the time he would wake up when he used to play Test cricket, when the butterflies he described as active even as his career matured to the point where they should have been stilled, fluttered. Or perhaps he was up early tending to his young son, who has just turned two, and whose presence in his life helped prompt a rethink of his own priorities. Either way, de Villiers was excited and expectant.

The day has arrived! Come on the boys, the whole of SA is right behind u guys. Enjoy it out there @deanelgar & co. #ProteaFire @OfficialCSA

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) July 6, 2017

Like many fans, he was engaged throughout the first hour. After Vernon Philander had dismissed the England openers, de Villiers praised the seamer for being “on a different level”, and was impressed with the bowlers “hunting together”. But before the day was up, Joe Root had scored a hundred and de Villiers conceded England had won it. “Credit to Joe Root & Eng for a good fightback! Still in it, we can roll them tomorrow with the new ball.” The next day England added 101 runs before lunch to post 458.De Villiers reserved comment until the end of the second day when he responded to a message from a well-known comedian, Joey Rasdien. “We’re gonna win this Test. The boys will fight all the way,” de Villiers said. South Africa were 214 for 5.A silent third day caused de Villiers to go into overdrive on the fourth. First he called the comeback from the South African bowlers, especially Morne Morkel and Keshav Maharaj, “special”. South Africa took 9 for 114 to set themselves a target of 330. De Villiers would have preferred “under 300”, but decided it was “not impossible” for South Africa to successfully chase it down. He wanted Heino Kuhn and Dean Elgar, who “both know how to score big”, to get in and, “they’ll get us in a position to pull it off”.Instead, the pair were out inside 10 overs, both for single figures, and South Africa were shot out for 119. De Villiers was gutted but somehow saw valiance in what most, including Faf du Plessis, assessed as a limp and error-filled performance:

Well played England. 2nd half of the day didn't work out, but the boys still fought like champions! We'll be back next Test. #ProteaFire

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) July 9, 2017

Exactly 14 minutes later he had moved on, to reality television.Between the first and second Test de Villiers retweeted condolences Cricket SA sent out to Russell Domingo following the passing of his mother and then fulfilled a sponsor obligation to advertise a luxury wrist-watch. Then it was back to business.He acknowledged Hashim Amla’s achievement of 8,000 Test runs, which came up 15 minutes into the Trent Bridge Test. South Africa were already one-down. Ordinarily de Villiers may have been padded up to bat next. Instead, South Africa had a middle-order wobble and lost four for 56 in the evening session. “Too many wickets”, according to de Villiers. He backed Vernon Philander and Chris Morris to take the score over 300 and they did in a 74-run “match-changing partnership”, as de Villiers put it. “This is what this team is all about.”The second day underlined that resilience. South Africa bowled England out for 205 and were 75 for 1 by the close. “What a day for SA Cricket,” de Villiers purred.When the victory was wrapped up, he became nostalgic and then reminiscent. He described South Africa’s performance as “beautiful cricket”, and said there was “nothing better than a Test victory”. He would know. He sounded like he wanted to know again.A 10-day break followed in which de Villiers’ second child was born, the reason he would probably have missed some part of this series even if he had not opted out of it entirely. And then on the eve of the third Test, de Villiers posted a photo inviting sports-loving South Africans to light up some of Graeme Smith’s new product – braai-wood – and enjoy some grilled meat before the game. Another endorsement and this one close to cricket, though Smith is understood to have raised an eyebrow at de Villiers’ social media engagements and, as he said on commentary, “lack of clarity over his future”.For the time being, his only say is on the current series and before the second day of the third Third Test began, with England on 171 for 4, de Villiers was at it again. “Early wickets and we’re right in it” he said. South Africa’s first scalp came at drinks and England were batting until just before tea.By the time de Villiers tweeted again, South Africa were in a mess at 61 for 7. Their top-order had failed again; the No.4 spot still a problem. Dropping JP Duminy seemed a no-brainer but there were now questions over Quinton de Kock’s promotion. The No.4 spot used to belong to de Villiers but, instead, he could only offer support from the sidelines. “A tough day at the Oval,” he posted, “no doubt the guys will keep fighting.”South Africa were bowled out for 175 and then conceded 313 in England’s second innings. They were set an improbable 492 to win, or four sessions of blocking to save the game. De Villiers thought it was possible. “We can still do it if we don’t lose more than 4 today. Keep fighting boys, we’ve done this before! @tbavuma10 & @deanelgar there at the end.”His enthusiasm was well-founded, except that when the ‘we’ had done it before, the ‘we’ included him. In Adelaide in 2012, in Johannesburg in 2013, even in Colombo in 2014, de Villiers was there. This time, they’d need someone else and they didn’t have it.With the chance to win the series gone, South Africa had to prepare for a must-win match at Old Trafford. In that time, de Villiers spent some time at the University of Pretoria Academy and wore his expensive watch again before wishing Faf du Plessis and “the boys” well. As the final Test got underway, de Villiers had just completed a satisfactory trip to a dental spa. “Great team, great service,” he posted, without any intended irony.AB de Villiers is expected to announce his Test retirement this month, but he clearly misses the team vibe•Getty ImagesOld Trafford has so far been an action replay of The Oval but both the team and de Villiers have stayed positive. On the first day, he encouraged the bowlers to get a “good start” on the second morning and the batsmen to show some “grit” to put the team in a “great position”. Forty minutes after lunch on the third day, with England three down, he figured the right result was still in South Africa’s grasp. “Proteas fighting! Love it. Keep going lads. Hoping for a target under 300.”England’s lead swelled to 360 by the time rain stopped play. South Africa’s hopes of saving the series have shrunk and they will return home with questions about the quality of the players the domestic system is producing. They will also return home with uncertainty hanging over them.It is all but confirmed that Ottis Gibson will take over from Russell Domingo but what that means for de Villiers is not known. He has previously said the decision over the coaching position will influence his future and has made it plain he wanted Domingo to continue in the role.It seems as though de Villiers still cares about the South African team and it is obvious that they still need a player of his proven talents. But it is increasingly hard to see how he would manage to fit Test cricket into his life, given his other commitments. His absence in England has become glaring, though, everywhere besides social media.

Plays of the day from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 15-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad

Vishal Dikshit30-Apr-2016One tip, no handDavid Warner had not yet started his barrage of boundaries when Virat Kohli brought on Harshal Patel to bowl the last over of the Powerplay. Sunrisers Hyderabad were 33 for 1 and Kohli would have hoped Harshal would keep the run rate under seven. He angled the first ball into Warner who chased it and got a thick edge that flew to the third-man boundary. Kedar Jadhav leapt with his right hand in the air but the ball bounced just over him. Harshal raised his hands to express disappointment with the fielding effort, but then saw he had overstepped. Warner clobbered the free-hit for a straight six and unleashed a four off the third legal ball of the over to frustrate the bowler further. Harshal leaked 16 runs and it gave Sunrisers the impetus they needed.Back to basicsWarner had raced to 86 off 47 balls when he got strike on the third ball of the 16th over. He had already driven, punched, pulled and ramped during his innings. And this time he tried a switch-hit against chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi. He missed and notched up a rare dot ball; his previous dot ball had come in the 11th over, also against Shamsi. On the next ball, Warner went back to his basics and slogged a straighter delivery from Shamsi to the leg side for six. He cleared his front foot to pack some power into the shot and, even though he didn’t middle it, his muscle and bat thickness were enough to send it beyond the boundary.Third time luckyWarner had propelled his side to 194 and Mustafizur Rahman got rid of Kohli in the Powerplay. Much of the groundwork had been done for Sunrisers. But they dented their own chances when AB de Villiers handed a high but simple catch off Barinder Sran straight to fine leg and Ashish Nehra didn’t even get a hand to it. De Villiers didn’t give up. Four overs later, he handed a catch to extra cover where Deepak Hooda moved to his right to attempt a slightly tougher chance but the ball popped out of his hands. Sunrisers finally cashed in the third time, in the 15th over, when de Villiers swung hard but could not send the ball flying past a diving Kane Williamson at long-on.The familiar chantOnly a few days ago, a chant familiar at any international cricket stadium in India was heard again when the Feroz Shah Kotla crowd cheered for Sachin Tendulkar and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for him. Delhi Daredevils had hosted Mumbai Indians on April 23 and the Delhi crowd wished Tendulkar a day ahead of his 43rd birthday. On Saturday evening in Hyderabad, the chant ‘Sachinnnnn, Sachinnnnnn’ was heard again even though the match was between Sunrisers and Royal Challengers. The Hyderabad crowd was actually cheering for Sachin Baby, the 27-year-old batsman from Kerala, who came out to bat at No. 5 for Royal Challengers. The batsman was new, but the chant was several years old.

With the pressure of a first ever knockout win out of the way, and a new-found belief blowing their sails, South Africa are confident of going the whole distance this World Cup

Firdose Moonda22-Mar-2015When Dale Steyn screams, you know it. When Rilee Rossouw flings himself forward to save a run, you know it. When Imran Tahir runs halfway across the city in celebration, you definitely know it. South Africa believe.”In eight days we could be world champions,” David Miller said. When this tournament began, that milestone was eight weeks away. Not only is it much closer now, it is the closest South Africa have ever been. They have been semi-finalists before, but only in tournaments without a preceding quarter-final round. They have already made history with their first ever win in a knockout match.That alone has buoyed them. “It means everything to me,” Miller said. “It’s the first World Cup for me and it’s a dream come true. To play a semi-final is going to be out of this world. It’s actually a privilege to be in that position. The guys have worked really hard in their careers with all their highs and lows and it comes down to a moment like this. A lot of people dream for a moment like this. We have the opportunity to actually be there.”In tournaments past, the pressure caused by pre-tournament expectations, Miller described, has been too much for South Africa. This time, they are finding a way to thrive on it. “This team has a lot of fresh guys in the side – young guys who haven’t been to World Cups before, so we don’t have a lot of baggage behind us,” Miller said.One of those is Kyle Abbott, who has lifted South Africa every time he has been included in the XI, and can also sense the buoyancy. “In the last couple of days there almost seems to be a spring in our step that actually can do it,” Abbott said. “After all the critics and everyone saying that we can’t, it’s gone the other way. I don’t think guys are going to sit back. I think this is going to take us to the next step and just believe even more that whatever the conditions and whoever the opposition is that we can do it.”Leading that sense of self-belief is AB de Villiers, who inspires with the bat almost as much as he does behind the scenes. “AB’s hunger to succeed and his passion for the team is contagious. The guys are biting on to that,” Abbott said.”We showed every bit of that on Wednesday: commitment in the field, diving for the balls. Rilee was outstanding at backward point, making efforts for balls that he was probably never going to get there but at least he knows now that he made an effort and couldn’t get there. That’s what AB asked from us. He said he wants us to create chances and that’s what we did. We gave ourselves every chance the other night. It’s just a confidence thing now that we actually can do it and take it to the next level.”To move another rung up on the ladder to success, South Africa are pulling out all the stops. For the semi-final, all the consultants they have roped in for this tournament have been collected together to form a mega brains-trust.David Miller – “The guys have worked really hard in their careers with all their highs and lows and it comes down to a moment like this. A lot of people dream for a moment like this”•Getty ImagesGary Kirsten, who is on a 50-day-a-year deal and was with the team ahead of the match against India a month ago, is back. Michael Hussey, who also spent a few days with team before both the India match and the quarter-final, is also back. Mike Horn, who joined up ahead of the quarter-final, has stayed on. And in an extended training session on Sunday morning, which stretched to almost four hours, Mark O’Donnell, the former New Zealand assistant coach who has worked in South Africa with the Eastern Province and Gauteng sides and is now part of Auckland’s structures, was also there.O’Donnell was mostly catching up with old friends but may also have been passing some insider tips on how to counter New Zealand’s approach of all-out aggression. South Africa seem to be working on a defensive strategy with bat in hand in the early stages before counterattacking later on.”They’re really good with nipping the ball. I don’t think they give the opposition much in the first 10 overs. So, it’s about absorbing as much as we can and limiting the damage in the first 10 overs,” Miller said.He won’t be doing much of that, though. As one of the middle-order men, Miller was practicing the second element, specifically targeting the short, straight boundaries. “Hopefully I can mishit a few straight sixes,” he joked, before explaining he will be careful not to get too carried away. “It’s all coming down to the crunch moment now so soon there will be a lot more pressure put on this game. It’s just another game, as they say, which is obviously cliched but it’s about pulling in your emotions and doing the job.”For South Africa, that job is believing like they have never believed before.

At 35, a lifetime of learning is propelling Kumar Sangakkara’s cricket far further than his innate ability ever could. He is now churning out match-winning innings that have frustratingly eluded him

Andrew Fidel Fernando at the R Premadasa Stadium20-Jul-2013Cricketers are sometimes labeled ‘great students of the game’. Often these students are men who distinguish themselves from the peloton of cricket’s sporty jocks by a yearning to learn more about the history and the nuances of the pursuit that consumes their lives.When he first began playing for Lancashire, Muttiah Muralitharan was said to have had a more thorough knowledge of the team’s previous season than many of the cricketers who had played in those matches. Part of why Michael Hussey’s ‘Mr. Cricket’ moniker endured was because he would speak for hours on end about the game, in what seemed like laborious detail to his teammates. In his years as Australia captain, Ricky Ponting was found perusing grade cricket scorecards from around the country. All men, whose livelihoods had happily aligned with their life’s most ardent passion.At 35, a lifetime of learning is propelling Kumar Sangakkara’s cricket far further than his innate ability ever could, and into the reaches of greatness. Against South Africa, he hit the highest ODI score ever made in Sri Lanka at a breathless pace that would have done Sanath Jayasuriya or Aravinda de Silva proud. Unlike either of those men, Sangakkara is not a natural strokemaker, nor are ODIs his format of choice. Yet the records continue to tumble over and again to a man who was never the precocious teenage talent that every other great Sri Lankan batsman was, before coming of age. By the end of his career, Sangakkara will probably top more lists than the rest of them combined.A year ago, when Sangakkara became the ICC’s Cricketer, and Test Cricketer of the Year, he refused to put himself in the company of the greats, both from Sri Lanka and worldwide. “They dominated attacks,” he said, “and they were great to watch. I’m more of a worker, and I graft for my runs.” Yet 13 years into his career, he is tearing international attacks apart for the first time, and playing the match-winning innings that have frustratingly eluded him in the last decade. Having accumulated 66 from his first 91 deliveries, Sangakkara snapped in the batting Powerplay, and unfurled an array of finishing blows even a 30-year old version of himself would never have attempted – 103 came from his next 46 balls.AB de Villiers later reflected on Sangakkara’s ability to manipulate the field, but the batsman had set such panic upon the South Africa bowlers they seemed incapable of containing him regardless. Even in a Test career that gleams far brighter than his limited-overs returns, he has rarely known such uncompromising dominance. The attack left the field not just emphatically beaten, but roundly humiliated.His unbeaten 134 at The Oval last month, to lead a difficult chase against a strong England, was another innings that showcased a new dimension to his one-day game. There are 77 half-centuries to the 16 hundreds in Sangakkara’s career, and many of those fifties meant little to the team, failing, as they did, to launch Sri Lanka to victory. He has learnt now, what it takes to carry the side over the line, and his ODI average is the best it has been since the honeymoon of his career.The 46th over of the Sri Lanka innings produced a moment that exposed the core of Sangakkara’s success. Going down to one knee, he attempted an over-the-shoulder scoop off a Ryan McLaren full toss, and had his stumps splayed. In an instant he was on his feet, looking from umpire to umpire and pointing at the men on the fence with agitation. De Villiers had stationed too many outside the circle and Sangakkara had counted them mentally before taking guard. He knew the ball would not count, so the risky stroke was no risk at all. The most unique facet of his greatness is that it is foremost a triumph of the mind.Before the series, Angelo Mathews had said Lahiru Thirimanne was capable of becoming the next Sangakkara, and as the young batsmen floundered while the great frolicked at the other end, plenty remarked on the vast gulf in class. Thirimanne’s critics might be surprised to learn that at the same age, and number of ODI innings, Sangakkara averaged six runs less than Thirimanne does now. He may have only made 17 from 33 in a 123-run partnership, but Thirimanne has already hit an ODI ton against a high-class attack. Batting in a similar position to Thirimanne at the start of his career, Sangakkara did not manage that until his 86th game.”There are a lot of things to learn from Sangakkara,” Thirimanne said after the match. “As young batsmen we take a lot out of what he says and the way he plays. He’s a special player and we’re lucky he’s from our country. In matches, I use a lot of what he says.”Thirimanne will do well to adopt Sangakkara’s obsession with improvement. Unfortunately for the young man, his beautiful, bent-kneed cover-drive has already drawn parallels with Sangakkara, and his future will likely be measured on the Sangakkara scale. It is a career that is almost impossible to emulate, because his mentor is himself one of cricket’s greatest students.