AB De Villiers should step down from South African captaincy - he's earned the right to choose when he bows out
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith will be writing exclusively for The Independent this summer. Here he looks at De Villers' absence from the Test series
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Your support makes all the difference.With the three-match mini IT20 series now behind us, this is surely as good a time as any to question the relevance of the T20 format at International level. Yes, three games have sold out, but England leaving out their captain Eoin Morgan tells you all you need to know in terms of how these games were viewed by both the English and South African boards.
Scrapping the format as a tour itinerary item, whilst maintaining the T20 World Cup, would avoid games being played with little in the way of context or intensity. One thing to be said for the three games we’ve seen over the last week is that they have provided an opportunity to see how new players fit in to the set-up, and how those players take to the pressures of international cricket.
That new blood has meant the intensity has been high, but the lack of big names involved does highlight the point around tours being too congested for players to play across all formats. From England’s point of view, blooding the likes of Mason Crane and Tom Curran has been worthwhile, and the attitude of both those two and Dawid Malan has been hugely impressive.
However, AB De Villiers’ decision to head home rather than take part in the Test Series is an example of players being forced to take their personal work load in to their own hands, in the absence of any sensible compromise between the players and the governing bodies of the game.
The last year to eighteen months has seen AB criticised for ‘picking and choosing’ his tours, and I don’t feel that the PR around the issue has been handled at all well by those around him. We are talking about a South African great, a world cricket great, who’s played in over 100 Test Matches for his country over thirteen years.
It’s my belief that AB was looking to walk away from the Test game last year at some point, but has been encouraged to carry on by CSA. His personal prerogative is ensuring he does all he can to add as much longevity to his international career as possible, as well as taking in to account the harsh realities of touring such as the amount of travel involved, and the toll that takes on your body.
AB has already made huge sacrifices for South African cricket, over such a long period of time, and with the next ICC World Cup just two years away, it’s likely that he is targeting that tournament as a swansong to his already illustrious career at the top level. What has AB De Villiers got to prove to anyone? He’s a star, and those players are often expected to be available all of the time no matter what the consequences might be personally.
AB is due to assess his future with CSA later this summer, and my advice to him would be to step away from the captaincy, and concentrate his energy in to maintaining his levels in white ball cricket for the next two years. Put simply, if that is what’s best for him and the longevity of his career, then that is what’s best for South African cricket.
Those criticising AB, and this decision in particular, need to ask themselves whether they would rather De Villiers played in the upcoming series and walked away from international cricket in a year, or have the opportunity to see him go on and play for his country at another big ICC tournament.
The pressures of the international game have done nothing to change how AB contributes to this side or who he is as a person. I remember the immediate energy he brought to the side when he started back in 2004. It’s infectious, and to have maintained that over thirteen or fourteen years is testament to who he is, and the strength of both his character and resolve.
‘Context’ is the new cricketing buzzword, with boards the world over looking to create it within their domestic competitions. Test cricket can maintain its relevance if the best players are present and motivated, with the finances of the game also a huge factor in ensuring that’s the case.
We’ve seen two very close games, and some quality cricket, but organisers should question whether these ‘filler’ fixtures are good for the players or for the wider international game.
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