Times Media
TELFORD VICE, Canberra
NOT for the first time in the past few weeks, AB de Villiers has refused to look further down SA’s World Cup road than the next robot. On Tuesday, he was again all revved up with a particular place to go.
“Pakistan in Auckland on Saturday is our next game,” De Villiers said when he was asked whether he had wondered who his team’s quarter-final opponents might be.
“We wouldn’t like to touch on what is going to happen too far in the future. I’ve encouraged the boys not to watch a lot of cricket - other cricket. We’re focused on playing Pakistan in Auckland on Saturday.”
Behind De Villiers and his team lay Tuesday’s 201-run hammering of Ireland at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Ahead of them was the Pakistan match.
But, on Sunday, after Australia and Sri Lanka clash in Sydney, they could know who they will play in the final four. If the Aussies win, SA are likely to meet the Lankans in Sydney. If Sri Lanka win, an Australia-SA quarter-final in Adelaide seems on the cards.
The ifs and buts of that permutation would keep most South Africans up late into the night. But De Villiers has enough to think about without getting into uncertainties.
Kyle Abbott, for instance, has bowled up a storm since replacing the injured Vernon Philander. He dismissed West Indian kingpins Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels cheaply in Sydney on Friday and claimed career-best figures of 4/21 against the Irish on Tuesday. But what happens to Abbott when Philander regains his fitness?
“To have as many guys as possible in good form in a tournament like this is key,” De Villiers said. “(Abbott) plays with his heart on his sleeve; he plays with a lot of passion.
“You always know what you’re going to get from him. He’s very easy to captain. But no-one is guaranteed a place in the side.”
De Villiers was also satisfied with the performance of spearhead Dale Steyn, who had taken just one wicket in each of SA’s first three games but showed more aggression on Tuesday to claim 2/39.
“I’ve got full faith in him to win us a couple of games in this tournament,” De Villiers said. “He could have taken it easy - we had 400 on the board. But he ran in with good pace an intensity and gave his all against a team he didn’t have to do that against.”
SA’s total of 411/4 was anchored by a second-wicket stand of 247 between Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis. Amla scored 11, 22 and 65 in his first three innings in the tournament, and banked a career-best 159 on Tuesday.
“Nobody can score runs all the time, unless your name is Don Bradman or AB de Villiers,” Amla quipped even as De Villiers alongside him stared in mock surprise.
De Villiers, whose 162 not out against West Indies featured the fastest one-day hundred yet scored in Australia, off 52 balls, was out for 24.
But that did not bother him: “Everyone gets energy and confidence from watching each other play. That’s what a batting unit is all about.”
Asked to recall his favourite shot on Tuesday, Amla said, “There was a nick to third man that went for four - the least effort for the most reward.”
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