No AB magic cuts deep

Limited overs cricket captain AB de Villiers’ decision to pull out of Test cricket for the time being has been met with a lot of anger and frustration from local fans.

The talented 32-year-old this week said he would not make himself available for Test cricket for tours to New Zealand and England this year, and a home series against Bangladesh next spring. De Villiers said he would consider playing the longer version of the game against India at home at the end of the year, and Australia here early in 2018.

He last played a Test for his country against England in January, 2016, and was out of the national set-up for eight months after struggling with an elbow injury.

“I needed a bit of time away from the game, and I need some more,” he said this week. There is a lot of cricket, but my priorities have changed.

“The big thing for me is to play in the 2019 World Cup. If I want to do that and be at my best, I can’t play every match in every format, between now and then.”

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You can’t really argue with that. The bottom line is there is just too much cricket on the go nowadays and players need to make brave decisions in order to prolong their careers.

There is also the more lucrative T20 tournaments like the Indian Premier League, Big Bash in Australia and Caribbean Premier League that sought-after players like De Villiers will never turn down. And they can’t be blamed for chasing the money – a player’s career can only last so long. Also, his wife is about to give birth to their second child.

Deciding when is the right time to retire to focus on family life is always tricky for a sportsman. De Villiers’ quality is not in question. He has scored over 8 000 runs in both Tests and one-day internationals, and averages over 50 in both formats.

That’s some record, so when a player of that calibre is no longer in your line-up – something that has been the norm for over a decade – you certainly feel it. And it’s that feeling of what a fan is missing is what really cuts deep.

Let’s hope De Villiers returns sooner rather than later.