South Africa Riding AB de Villiers' Highs and Lows into World Cup Semi-Final
Ingenious. Impenetrable. A fearsome striker. A true athlete. Staggeringly consistent.
The world's best.
As a batsman, AB de Villiers is, right now, the ultimate. As good as it comes. A dynamic and swashbuckling cricketer of such phenomenal excellence that many of us have arrived at a similar conclusion: "He's playing a different game."
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
But there's also another side to South Africa's one-day captain. There's another set of adjectives that, at different junctures, can also describe him.
Unsure. Despondent. Easily affected. A second-guesser. Up and down.
Outwardly, De Villiers' personality seems different from the all-conquering man he is on the field. He appears to be one of the many sportsmen whose character isn't exactly what his game makes you think it might be.
Never before has that seemed more evident than it has across the last few months, as South Africa have prepared for, and embarked upon, what has been the country's historical nemesis: a World Cup campaign.
Indeed, unlike his batting, De Villiers' emotions appear to go through dramatic highs and lows. Peaks and troughs. One minute, he's bullish, speaking with supreme confidence of his team's credentials; the next, he seems down in the dumps, questioning all the concepts he'd previously believed in.
Watching him do so has felt odd. Particularly for a guy averaging a mind-blowing 77.25 with the bat in one-day internationals since January 2014. At a strike rate of 126.63. One hundred and twenty-six.
Most of us would think we could walk on water if that was us. It's extraordinary consistency.
But De Villiers appears to carry the uncertainties that remind you he is mortal.
"I just want to sit in my room and feel sad for a while," the Proteas' leader said, per ESPN Cricinfo, after his team had been surprisingly thrashed by India in Melbourne at this World Cup.
Not long later, after his team had been upset by Pakistan, De Villiers' mood was similar, suggesting, "[We might] not be as good as we think we are."
In fact, that night heard the world's No. 1 ranked ODI batsman remark, "I've got nothing good to say about the team at the moment."
Rarely do you hear a captain so negative. So despondent. So down.
Yet, less than a week later, the 31-year-old's outlook had completed a full reversal.
"I 100 percent believe we are the best team in the tournament here," De Villiers said, appearing to recapture the sort of confidence and conviction that befits a player of his calibre.
He then continued that sentiment in the lead-up to South Africa's semi-final clash with New Zealand in Auckland, saying, per Agence France-Presse (h/t the Daily Mail): "If we play to our full potential, no one is going to stop us in this tournament."
Such a string of comments serve as good examples of the ups and downs De Villiers seems to endure in his mind. And in that sense, he's become emblematic of his team, of South Africa's collective psyche.
For the Proteas have experienced a six-month stretch that's oscillated between each end of the spectrum on the field, which has been articulated by, and seen in, the skipper.
In October, South Africa brushed aside the now-surging New Zealand outfit in two games at Mount Maunganui. "We did the basics well, certainly better than New Zealand. That gives us a lot of confidence," the captain said after the series, per Firdose Moonda of ESPN Cricinfo.
Then, before South Africa embarked upon a five-game one-day campaign against Australia, De Villiers made the assertion that his team had "started talking about the World Cup when we had about 25 or 30 ODIs to play and we've got 10 left."
The suggestion was that the side's World Cup preparations were more advanced than those of others. That they had their plans formulated already. That they knew the ins and outs of their games to a greater extent.
Prior to leaving South Africa, he'd also challenged his team to produce "out-of-this-world fielding," adding that his team had "a bit of an edge" over Australia.
But after just one game in the series with Australia, after the opening loss in Perth where his side had dropped George Bailey four times, he was openly questioning himself.
"Maybe I made a mistake mentioning it in the media and putting too much emphasis on it," he said after that clash at the WACA Ground, per ESPN Cricinfo. "I put a bit of pressure on the guys maybe."
That opening loss seemed to shake South Africa's confidence out of them. They'd arrived buoyant. Talking strongly. Walking like conquerors.
But they lost the series 4-1.
"Maybe we over-thought things; maybe we've been over-analysing things a little bit," De Villiers said in defeat, according to Moonda. "Maybe I must stop talking about the little things we mustn't do and start talking about the things we should do."
That's a lot of maybes. A word that reflects uncertainty. A loss of assurance.
But 24 hours later, he did one of those 180-degree turns.
"There is absolutely no doubt in [my] mind we are the better team" he stated despite the lopsided scoreline, before adding: "We will be the team to beat at the World Cup."
His side are now into the semi-finals of that tournament he spoke of. One game away from going into uncharted territory for his nation.
But strangely, they've gotten there in an up-and-down fashion. Both in the tournament itself and on the road leading up to it.
The path prior to the World Cup was bumpy, breezing past New Zealand and the West Indies either side of collapsing against Australia. Now deep into the competition, they've annihilated the West Indies (again), Sri Lanka, Ireland and the UAE, but also fallen in holes against India and Pakistan.
Up. Down. Up. Down.
South Africa are riding the highs and lows. And no one is doing so more than the team's captain.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
