AB de Villiers: cool about his form. Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images.
AB de Villiers is not concerned about his form going into the ICC Champions Trophy.
The Proteas one-day skipper had a distinctly lukewarm campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL), scoring only one fifty in 9 innings.
“I’m not worried. I hope others also aren’t worried,” said De Villiers.
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“I had a few decent knocks. It was split up nicely across the tournament. I made a fifty early on and then another good score later on.”
Sceptics might find those words hard to believe given the 33-year-old’s inconsistent scores but it must also be said he played in a Bangalore batting line-up that gradually badly lost confidence.
“I always felt in good form,” said De Villiers.
“I’m really not too worried, I’m really excited. I’m hitting the ball as well as ever. I think there are some good scores to come.”
South Africa’s middle-order dynamo also had some fans nervous over a troublesome back, a niggle that saw him sit out twice during the tournament.
But careful management by his IPL franchise means De Villiers is fit as a fiddle.
“My back’s 100%. I’ve worked really hard on that,” he said.
“It’s always been a bit of an issue, especially the past 7 or 8 years. I’m 33, it’s part and parcel of the game.”
Perhaps then the biggest issue is in which position will De Villiers have the biggest impact.
Given that English conditions are expected to see a few top order wickets fall early, the trick for the Proteas will be to carefully decide whether to use him earlier of later.
Not that De Villiers minds being a so-called floater in the batting order.
“The last while I’ve been batting at No 4,” he said.
“I’m very happy to move around the order. I always have been. I’m not a big stats man, so I won’t look at what my averages are in different positions. If it suits them team for me to bat 3 or 5, for example, I’ll do it.”
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