de Villiers inspired by heated reception

The Western Terrace at Headingley is notorious for its atmosphere and they made their feelings known when AB de Villiers walked in on the second day. A chorus of boos rang around the ground following de Villiers' non-catch against Andrew Strauss on Thursday, and even when he reached his century today the packed stand still hadn't forgiven him.

It was a new experience for de Villiers, one he found difficult to accept, but when he finally departed for 174 the roars of discontent had subsided to a lower level. "It was the first time I'd ever been booed walking out and that was very disappointing. It hurt quite a lot," he said. "But if anything it motivated me and I'm very satisfied to be sitting here right now with a hundred."

de Villiers' century came on the back of being given a piece of Michael Vaughan's mind at lunch on the opening day, following his claiming of a catch against Strauss. It looked an ugly moment on TV, the ball clearly being grassed, but de Villiers had tried to calm the issue by apologising straight away.

"The truth of what happened [with the catch] was the ball hit my right hand and went straight into my left hand," he explained. "I was pretty sure I'd taken the catch although I went straight to [Graeme Smith] and said I'm not 100% sure. He said don't worry, it's being referred. There was no way I was going to let Straussy walk off without telling the umpires I wasn't sure.

"I'm very happy it was referred and given not out, because I would never have been able to go to bed at night if I'd known he had to walk off the field. When I walked past Andrew I told him I wasn't sure because I never had my own chance to go to the umpires. That's the end of the story and it was very sorry to be booed onto the field. I didn't feel I deserved that."

As well as receiving a heated reception from the crowd there were the predictable chirps from the England players. He was then stuck on 99 for more than 40 minutes, surviving a huge appeal for caught behind off Andrew Flintoff, who was less than impressed. "I wasn't expecting anything less," said de Villiers. "I did get my fair share of words when I walked on, but that's part of the game. If anything it played into my hands and motivated me to stay there for as long as possible.

"I was under quite a lot of pressure on 99, we couldn't afford to lose a wicket, and Freddie was bowling unbelievably well. I actually thought, gee that's too good, and I was smiling. That's when Freddie had a go because he thought I was laughing at him. That's where the little misunderstanding came from."

However, when he reached three figures there was acknowledgement from most of the England players and de Villiers holds no grudges about anything that has happened between teams. "I'm not going to take any offence from their players. Whatever is said on the field or in the dressing room is alright. I really respect that and thank the boys for clapping for a hundred."

But through all the boos and stares, de Villiers stood firm. He has changed as a batsman from the dashing, ultra-aggressive figure who made his debut against England in 2005-06. That series was a microcosm of his early career as he was shunted up and down the order (and even kept wicket). However, he has now found his home at No. 6, so much so that if Neil McKenzie had failed his fitness test JP Duminy would have opened, rather than disrupting de Villiers in the middle order. He has adapted his play and this was the slowest of his six Test centuries, taking 264 balls, showing a new level of maturity.

"It's important on any English wicket to leave well. Myself and Ash [Ashwell Prince] discussed it and said it's one of those wickets where we are going to have to be patient," he said. "You have to know where your off stump is and where you want to score. I was lucky at stages and played and missed a bit, but that's part of the game."

His effort has put South Africa firmly on course for a 1-0 series lead. However, three days into the previous Test, the visitors were in a similarly dire predicament as England now find themselves so de Villiers is prepared for a hard slog. "It's going to take a lot of patience and guts. As a batter you have to be patient, but we are going to have to be even more patient with the ball and take our chances. If we stick to out disciplines, there's no reason we shouldn't win the Test."

The difference is that confidence is now oozing from a team which has settled into conditions. As Makhaya Ntini showed in the final session the bowlers are finding their groove after a slow start, and the same also applies to the batting. With de Villiers' marathon innings following Ashwell Prince's elegant 149 it means that the only member of the top six not to reach three figures is Jacques Kallis. With the series not yet at the halfway mark, that's a pretty sobering thought for England's battle-weary bowlers.