AB de Villiers: Mr 360 belongs in a league of his own
A player central to the evolution of the modern game across all three formats, AB de Villiers has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
By Daniel Beswick
Adapting to the ever-changing nature and rigours of contemporary cricket, which included the advent of the T20 format, de Villiers made a lasting impact during a 14-year career, scoring over 20,000 international runs, while also revered as one of the greatest fielders to grace the game.
Boasting the fastest-ever men’s ODI century, multiple ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year Awards and selected in the ICC Test Team of the Year on multiple occasions, de Villiers was also a leading player in the game’s shortest format during its formative years as an international format.
AB de Villiers inducted in ICC Hall of Fame:
AB de Villiers: ICC Hall of Fame 2024 inductee
Adapting, flourishing in early international years
Having impressed in his first 16 first class matches in South Africa, de Villiers was called up to open the batting for South Africa in a home series against England back in 2004, before moving back down the order and taking up the gloves.
He made vital contributions for the Proteas in the five-match series, averaging 40.22, saving the second Test with an unbeaten half-century in the second Test, and making his first century in a Player of the Match performance in the fifth Test against an attack that defeated an all-conquering Australian lineup just months prior.
De Villiers went his first 78 innings in Test cricket without being dismissed for a duck, a record in the format.
Best of AB de Villiers in ICC tournaments:
Best of AB de Villiers compilation | ICC Hall of Fame
Flexible and responsible both with bat and in the field
Few players boast the ability to grit out periods of Test cricket, while racing at a rate of knots in limited overs action. AB de Villiers breaks the mould.
De Villers first showed his attacking game on the biggest stage at the 2007 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, making his maiden ODI century in a Super 8s match against hosts West Indies, fighting a combination of cramps, heat exhaustion and dehydration at the backend of his knock.
Successful one-day international outings followed, and four years later de Villiers shone again at a global tournament, becoming the first South African man to score two centuries at the same World Cup, doing so in consecutive innings.
De Villiers took over the T20I and ODI captaincy reins in June 2011, winning ODI Player of the Series honours against Sri Lanka in his first assignment. Leading the team at the 2015 Cricket World Cup, extra responsibilities proved no burden, as he made 482 runs at 96 and a strike rate of 2015 on the way to a semi-final finish. De Villiers struck 162 off just 66 balls against the West Indies at the SCG in the campaign, and finished the tournament as the No.1 ranked ODI batter in the ICC Rankings.
Against the red ball though in the same era, de Villiers was resolute, rarely enduring a barren patch. From 2008 to 2016 in Test cricket, de Villiers made 6001 runs at 58.26, scoring 18 of his 22 hundreds in the format. Highlights included a century in South Africa’s successful chase of 414 in Perth back in 2008, and a century/11-dismissal double against Pakistan in 2013, where he became the first wicket-keeper to score a century and claim 10 dismissals in the same match.
De Villiers took Test captaincy honours briefly in 2016, though continued to make headlines in all three formats. A 21-ball fifty against England in the same summer was the fastest by a South African at the time, and a blistering 176 (104) against Bangladesh in Paarl a year later in his career twilight only underlined his credentials.
AB de Villiers: Best moments in the field:
Remember why South African star AB de Villiers is rated one of the greatest fielders of all time
A lasting legacy as a contemporary great
Exiting from international cricket in 2018, de Villiers finished with a batting average of more than 50 in both Test and ODI cricket, with Jacques Kallis the only Protea to boast more than de Villiers’ 20,014 international runs.
Able to score around the ground with a full array of shots against all types of bowlers, de Villiers is regarded as both one of the most innovative and destructive batters in the modern game.
De Villiers claimed the ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year award on three occasions (2010, 2014 and 2015) and was selected in both the ODI and T20I Team of the Decade from 2010-2020. He was also named in the ICC Test Team of the Year on four occasions (including a selection as 12th player in 2012).
While many players of today and tomorrow will aim to match de Villiers’ individual success across all three formats, few will be able to emulate it.