‘Mr 360’ De Villiers joins SA legends in ICC Hall of Fame

AB de Villiers became the seventh South African to be voted into the ICC Hall of Fame on Wednesday. 

De Villiers, who played his last international in the fourth Test against Australia at the Wanderers in 2018, is widely regarded as one of the sport’s greatest batters, notably for his innovative batting. 

The now 40-year-old had an international career that spanned 14 years in which he played 114 Tests, 228 One-Day Internationals and 78 T20s. 

“I would have achieved nothing without the help and support of so many teammates, coaches and support staff from my early days at school in Pretoria through so many memorable days at the Titans and with the South Africa team and in franchise cricket all around the world,” De Villiers said. 

De Villiers joins Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Jacques Kallis, Aubrey Faulkner, Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald as the South African inductees in the Hall of Fame. 

He made his Test debut as a 20-year-old — with Dale Steyn — against England in Gqeberha in 2004 and batted in a variety of positions from opener to No 6 over the first few years of his international career. 

Though South Africa lost that first series, his presence with Steyn was the start of a new era for the national team that would culminate in historic feats in England and Australia, which would lead the Proteas to becoming the best Test team in the world. 

His record against Australia was staggering: in 24 Tests he scored more than 2,000 runs at an average of 51.70 and, with Steyn, was one of the central figures in overturning decades of South African hurt against the Australians. He was part of two series-winning teams Down Under, including the 2008-2009 tour party, which was the first to beat Australia in a Test series in that country, with De Villiers making a match-winning century in the first Test in Perth.

His one unfulfilled dream was winning a World Cup. De Villiers, particularly in 2015, threw himself into that event, even turning himself into an all-rounder as he chased what still remains elusive for South African cricket.

De Villiers is South Africa’s leading run-scorer in ODI World Cups but would give back each of the four centuries he made over the course of three tournaments for the trophy itself. 

In the T20 format, especially in the IPL, he became one of the superstars, playing with good friend Virat Kohli at Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he earned the moniker “Mr 360" for his ability to score all around the wicket. 

Sadly, as with World Cups, he wasn’t able to win an IPL title either. 

“Cricket is often described as an individual sport in a team game and it’s true that, whether you are a batsman taking guard at the crease or a bowler pausing at the start of his run-up, you, and only you, are responsible for what happens,” De Villiers said.

“That said, everyone who plays cricket understands it is, in spirit, a team game.”