Wanted to prove that I still got it, and that I'm still the best: AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers revived his Test career of sorts following what had been an injury-riddled last year with an unbeaten century against a strong and hostile Australian bowling attack. His unbeaten century has gone a long way towards shutting up all the critics he once had. Speaking about his performance, the 34-year old went ahead and said that he was very motivated to prove to everyone that he could still play Test cricket. This inning was lauded by former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith as well.

“I was very motivated to prove that I can still play this game,” said De Villiers, whose performance was described by his former captain Graeme Smith as “one of the great Test innings”. “I was very motivated to prove to everyone that I can still play the game, even though I have been away for a while,” he said. “I was just tired of playing. I was just flat, physically and mentally. There were other factors, I had become a dad, there were a lot of things happening in my life. I felt I needed to breathe a bit.”

“It was right up there with the best feeling ever,” he said. “I was very nervous in the nineties. I was constantly reminding myself through the nineties that it’s not about yourself, it’s about contributing as many runs as possible to the team. That made me a feel a little bit better,” he said. “He’s crossed the line a few times and I think he’s regretting that,” said De Villiers.

David Saker heaps praise on de Villiers

Australia bowling coach David Saker went ahead and heaped praise on the right-handed batsman stating that it was up to the senior players in the side to ensure that matches are indeed won.

“I think it’s up to some of our senior guys to help him. It’s important for some of the players to get around him before he gets close to a batter where he can tell him, ‘I just got you out’’’.

Saker said Australia had not lost hope. “We still need another 60 or 70 runs to put pressure on South Africa. We’re still comfortable that we can get a total that can be defended.”