AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is a South African cricketer. He made his Test debut in 2004 and his ODI debut in early 2005. De Villiers captained South Africa in all three formats. He retired from international cricket in May 2018 and said he would not play again until after the 2019 World Cup in England.

About AB de Villiers in brief

Summary AB de VilliersAbraham Benjamin de Villiers is a South African cricketer. He made his Test debut in 2004 and his ODI debut in early 2005. De Villiers captained South Africa in all three formats, although after a series of injuries he stepped down from the Test captaincy. He is a right-handed batsman who accumulated over 8,000 runs in Tests including 22 centuries and 46 fifties. In May 2018 he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. In January 2020 he expressed his intention to make an international comeback and play for South Africa at the 2020 T20 World Cup. He was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five Wisden cricketers of the decade at the end of 2019. He holds the records for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 of all time in One Day Internationals by any batsmen, and also holds the fastest hundred by aSouth African in Tests and fastest 50 by South African in T20Is. He has been used in a similar fashion to Jonty Rhodes in ODIs, opening the innings, although he currently bats in the middle-order. He gave up wicket-keeping in 2015 and handed the gloves to debutant Quinton de Kock. After the 2011 Cricket World Cup he succeeded Graeme Smith as captain of the national ODI side, and became Test captain after the second Test of the home series against England in 201516.

He retired from international cricket in May 2018 and said he would not play again until after the 2019 World Cup in England. He currently plays for the South African Cricket Association (SACA) and the Johannesburg Strikers (JST). He is known for a range of unorthodox shots, particularly behind the wicketkeeper. He played for the Titans in U19s and made his debut for the national side in 20034. After a spell in the South Africa U19 team, he made his international debut for South African Titans in 2000. He also played in the U19 World Cup for the South Africa T20 side in 2000 and 2001. He is a two-time ODI player of the year, winning the award in 2010, 2014 and 2015. In 2005 he became the second-youngest and second-fastest and South African to reach 1,000 Test runs after Graeme Pollock. He scored the second highest individual score by a South Africa batsman, with 278, in a match against Australia in 2005. In 2006 he made a match-saving half-century from number seven against India in the 2006 winter series. In 2010 he made the fastest ODI century in just 31 balls. In 2011 he became South Africa’s second-highest ODI run-scorer, after Shane Warne, with 178 in a tour of the Caribbean. Despite a good tour of Australia he scored 178 to help South Africa seal a Test series win, his rapid progress was slowed on on the tour.