AB de Villiers is batting at No.4 and keeping wicket. He cannot be a one-man batting unit if South Africa are to compete in the Test series
Firdose Moonda in Durban27-Dec-2015If AB de Villiers is not careful, he may soon to be asked to prepare the pitch, paint the popping crease and peddle the tickets before South Africa’s next match. He does pretty much everything else, doesn’t he? It is little wonder that his team-mates are having to deny media reports about his future in international cricket.Already burdened with the gloves he so vocally said he did not really want to wear in longer formats, de Villiers has also been pushed up the order to perform the dual role of saving South Africa from a stuttering start, which has become the norm over the last five Tests, and shielding an out-of-form Faf du Plessis. Despite the floundering above and flapping below, de Villiers stood firm and even got fiery.The 12th over had just begun, South Africa were 22 for 2 and he had only faced 10 balls. However, in a show of intent he brought out his reverse-sweep, a shot that in most other people’s hands counts as one of the riskiest in the game. Moeen Ali was warned instantly that he was the man South Africa wanted to target. That would only have made his dismissal of du Plessis later in the day – bowling him with the lightest of touches after du Plessis had given him the charge – more satisfying.By then de Villiers’ innings had come to a Shakespearean hero’s end, for which it may always have been headed considering that he was never entirely in control. Early on, he got a leading edge off Steven Finn which just dropped short of gully; he then inside-edged Finn over his stumps but so easily could have played on. He got the sort of luck that has deserted his team-mates, but he also made that luck count.As expected, the longer de Villiers was at the crease, the more his confidence grew. The same thing was obvious with Dean Elgar. None of the rest of South Africa’s top five spent enough minutes in the middle to achieve the same and that may only worsen their mindset.Stiaan van Zyl has forgotten where his off stump is; Hashim Amla has forgotten his feet, and du Plessis is relying on a muscle memory that recalls a block-a-thon with more clarity than it does strike rotation. None of them can find a way to remember what it feels like to score runs and South Africa cannot afford amnesiacs. Better news is that Quinton de Kock, the wicketkeeper-batsman dropped in Bangladesh, made a ton for his franchise team, Titans, so South Africa have replacement options. But not in this Test.For the next three days, they have to hope de Villiers receives some support. At least it is coming in some from from the bowlers.De Villiers does not have to concern himself with leading the attack – something he may actually want to add to his resume, considering the odd occasions in which he has burgled a wicket in limited-overs’ cricket in the past – because Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are producing the same pace and precision with which they made their names.Morkel, in particular, has stepped up in an unexpectedly spectacular way. Since the India series he has added reverse swing to his armoury, when conditions allow, and in addition to a more consistent line, he now varies his lengths to let the batsmen know he is just not a short-ball specialist. His patience has improved, so even when he has to work hard for his wickets, he does not give up.He went wicket-less on the first day but came back with a plan on the second morning and it worked. Morkel set up the stroke-maker Ben Stokes with a sequence of 14 dot-balls that forced a poor shot, knowing that the all-rounder wanted to get a move on. Then, he took three wickets without conceding a run with the second new ball.He bowled quicker than anyone else in his attack and delivered the joint-fastest ball of the match so far (Chris Woakes, perhaps surprisingly, has also reached the 147kph mark) and he was able to create and sustain a pocket of pressure for a period of time. He has made himself available as a second go-to man, so Amla does not only need to use Steyn alone when he needs a breakthrough.Morkel has admitted the increased responsibility has come after he stopped being so hard on himself.”After the subcontinent, I could have put a lot of pressure on myself because there’s an expectancy on bouncy, quicker wickets,” he said. “Yesterday I toiled hard but went wicketless. It’s nice to be able to do something for the team, especially working into the wind. It’s nice to do some sort of job to create pressure.”As they did in India, South Africa’s attack made sure their team was in the game but they needed de Villiers to keep them in it. The effort the bowler put in to ensure England only just eked past 300 could have evaporated quickly if South Africa had found themselves 40 for 4, with a vulnerable middle-order. De Villiers made sure it did not get to that. But he left it to Elgar, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy and the tail to carry the team to parity and beyond.For a change de Villiers needs something from the rest. Whether they can provide as he always does will determine South Africa’s destiny in this series.
