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De Villiers upbeat about different combinations

AB de Villiers could afford to be jovial after South Africa won the second ODI against New Zealand, especially since his medium pace claimed two wickets

Firdose Moonda
Firdose Moonda
24-Oct-2014
"I would like to think I'm an allrounder.  I've got a few skills here and there; no real pace, but if I can land it, it could be handy against certain teams on certain fields."
AB de Villiers could afford to be jovial after South Africa won the second ODI against New Zealand, especially since his medium pace claimed two wickets. In a surprise move, de Villiers brought himself on in the 15th over, before South Africa's frontline spinner Imran Tahir had turned his arm over, with New Zealand still in the game on 54 for 2.
Tom Latham was as surprised as anyone else and when he was presented with a long hop off the 10th ball de Villiers bowled, he tried to get cute and paddle it. But Amla was stationed at short fine leg and took the catch which gave de Villiers his maiden wicket after 170 matches.
It would have been easy for de Villiers to get carried away with the ease at which success came and keep himself on, but he did not. While Steyn took two wickets in two overs at the other end, Tahir was introduced and a strangle from both sides saw New Zealand slide to 90 for 6 and then 104 for 8. The chances of a contest were effectively killed off when de Villiers decided to have another go but his enthusiasm for the challenge was very much alive. It would only have been fuelled when he bowled Trent Boult with a slower ball.
South Africa should have finished New Zealand off swiftly after that but again, they allowed the last pair to make merry. After Luke Rochi and Boult set a new record for the highest 10th-wicket stand by New Zealand against any team with 74 in the first match, Ronchi and Mitchell McClenaghan broke that when they posted 76 in the second game, but this time de Villiers was not nearly as bothered.
"Today was a completely different situation to the first game when I was disappointed with the way we didn't finish things off," he said. "Today we had the game in the bag by the 35th over. It got tough out there. The wind was pumping and we think the bowlers stiffened up towards the end. That competitive edge maybe wasn't quite there, which is normal."
The one person whose fire burned throughout was de Villiers himself, because he could see a different strategy working for his team. The real reason de Villiers bowled may have only had a little bit to do with him having some fun and a lot to do with South Africa trying to fit an extra batsman into the side and leaving out bowling allrounder Ryan McLaren.
Both David Miller and Rilee Rossouw played and even though all they did was form a soft underbelly, de Villiers wanted to see whether the combination could work. "It's important to have seven frontline batsmen against certain teams. To have that option and to have confidence in that option is going to be important," he explained. "Maybe we were a bowler light, but JP Duminy has bowled really well in the last year or two and I've been working on getting one or two overs in. If we can do that, we can manage with seven batsmen - in certain games. I don't think it will become a trend, but it's nice to have that option. I feel we need that option at a big tournament like the World Cup."
For Hashim Amla, whose century set up South Africa's win, to see an experiment taking place in a crunch game showed maturity and creativity. "That's healthy - the fact that we're trying different combinations in a game like this - with the series on the line - takes a lot of guts," Amla said. "That's testimony to AB and Russell Domingo showing that we have confidence in the players and to let guys do their thing."
De Villiers indicated McLaren would be back for the dead rubber on Monday, which could also see South Africa try out a few other players. Kyle Abbott is the reserve seamer, who may play in place of one of the frontliners, but don't be too surprised if de Villiers has a spell or two as well.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent