Proteas captains AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis.
Claiming four accolades, including Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa’s annual awards evening, AB de Villiers says his teammates spurred him on to greater heights during the season.
“I would certainly not be standing here without my teammates,” said De Villiers in Johannesburg on Wednesday night. He was also named Test Cricketer of the Year, South African Players’ Player of the Year and South African Fans’ Cricketer of the Year. “It was a special night for me. Being the fans cricketer of the year – the fans are a huge part of the reason I’m here today,” he said.
“My wife has been my biggest supporter of them all. Then came the players’ player of the year. It just means the players have faith in you and your ability.” With the obvious void left behind, following the retirements of Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith in the Test arena, De Villiers saw it as a time to shine.
“We’re going to miss them so much. Jacques and Graeme played a huge role in getting us to where we are today. That leaves us with a huge responsibility and opportunity to take it forward now.”
Looking ahead, the current crop of Proteas would be eager to claim their own piece in history, De Villiers said.
“They left an amazing legacy, and it’s up to guys like myself, Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla and the rest of the senior group to take it forward.” With the appointment of Amla as Test captain on Tuesday, it would present a unique blend of personalities over the three formats of the game.
“It’s exciting having Hash as the Test captain, myself the ODI captain and Faf du Plessis at the helm of the T20 team. It’s a great mixture of players and different kinds of captains, and different styles of leadership. I look forward to us standing together and leading to get us to where we should be.” – Sapa