AB de Villiers said he felt that he needed to prove he was still worth his place in the South African team, after continuing his return to Test cricket with a match-changing hundred against Australia.
De Villiers made a magnificent 126 not out and took South Africa to a likely series-levelling position on the third day of the second Test against Australia at St George’s Park on Sunday.
After taking a first-innings lead of 139, South Africa reduced Australia to 180 for five at the close, a slender lead of 41 with only five wickets remaining.
“I was very motivated to prove that I can still play this game,” said De Villiers, whose performance was described by his former captain Graeme Smith as “one of the great Test innings”.
De Villiers did not play Test cricket between January 2016 and December 2017, after he decided he needed time away from the game.
“I was very motivated to prove to everyone that I can still play the game, even though I have been away for a while,” he said.
De Villiers insisted he had never fallen out of love with the five-day format.
Most Test centuries v Australia in last 10 years:
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) March 11, 2018
6 AB de Villiers (28 inns)
6 Virat Kohli (27 inns)#SAvAus
“I was just tired of playing. I was just flat, physically and mentally. There were other factors, I had become a dad, there were a lot of things happening in my life. I felt I needed to breathe a bit.”
Against a powerful Australian bowling attack, on a pitch where other batsmen had struggled to score freely, De Villiers made batting look easy. He played some breathtaking strokes in hitting 20 fours and a six in a 146-ball innings.
“He is one of the best players in the world, if not the best,” said Australian bowling coach David Saker. “It seemed like he was batting on a different wicket to everyone else.”
De Villiers claimed he was nervous as he approached his 22nd Test century, his sixth against Australia and his first against any opponents in more than three years.
He celebrated exuberantly when he reached the mark with an upper cut for four against Pat Cummins.
“It was right up there with the best feeling ever,” he said. “I was very nervous in the nineties.”
He told batting partner Vernon Philander that he was struggling to breathe and that his legs felt numb.
“I was constantly reminding myself through the nineties that it’s not about yourself, it’s about contributing as many runs as possible to the team. That made me a feel a little bit better,” he said.
