South Africa's AB de Villiers removed the question mark over whether he could bat while also keeping wicket with a storming 169 on Sunday to help his country to the brink of a series triumph over Australia.
Batsman AB de Villiers will return to the role of wicketkeeper for South Africa in the opening two Tests of their four-match home series against England starting in Durban on Boxing Day.
Jacques Kallis hit his second Test double century and AB de Villiers added a thrilling hundred before South Africa declared on 580 for four on the second day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at Newlands on Wednesday.
South Africa crushed the Pakistan Cricket Board XI by 176 runs in a one-day tour match on Tuesday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings for the ongoing IPL 8
Hashim Amla scored 196 and AB de Villiers 169 in a batting exhibition that drove South Africa to a commanding lead of 631 runs before they were dismissed for 569 on the third day of the third Test against Australia on Sunday.
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane jumped three places to enter the top-10 in batsman's list while Ravichandran Ashwin maintained his pole position among all-rounders in the latest Test rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Images from the World Cup match between West Indies and South Africa in New Delhi on Thursday.
Jacques Kallis completed his maiden Test double century and AB de Villiers blasted the fastest ever century by a South African, to leave India with an uphill task to save the first Test on day three at SuperSport Park, in Centurion, on Saturday.
He replaces South African pacer Lungisani Ngidi, who was ruled out of IPL 2024 with injury.
South Africa host Australia for three T20 matches from August 30 to September 3 and five ODIs from September 7 to 17.
South Africa skipper AB de Villiers said he made a few captaincy errors that may have helped Pakistan snatch a thrilling win from the jaws of defeat in the opening Group 2 Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Colombo on Friday.
South Africa's skipper A B de Villiers is a satisfied man as his team took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against World No 1 India. And AB de Villiers felt that his team ought to be proud of this achievement.
Top India batsman Virat Kohli has maintained his second position in the latest ICC batsmen rankings while medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has moved up a place to be seventh in the bowlers' standings.
Virat Kohli (fourth), Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ninth) have also maintained their respective positions in the ICC ODI batting chart.
Opener Hashim Amla fell two runs shy of a half-century as South Africa cruised to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first Twenty20 at Kingsmead on Friday.
'I made no demands neither did I try to force myself into WC squad'
Cricket South Africa's Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe confirmed Klaasen was still part of their white ball plans.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith's inspirational leadership and prolific batting in the season gone by fetched him the twin honours of 'Cricketer of the Year' and 'Test Cricketer of the Year' at the country's annual cricket awards in Johannesburg.
Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur pushed South Africa to the backfoot before the classy AB de Villiers rallied the tourists with a typically aggressive century on the second and last day of the practice game against Board President's XI which ended in a draw, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
AB de Villiers hit an unbeaten half century to steer South Africa to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh and an unassailable 2-0 lead in their one-day series on Wednesday.
Swing bowler Vernon Philander sent a strong message to the South African one-day international selectors about his prowess in the 50-over game with a superb performance as the Proteas defeated Pakistan by four wickets in the final match of the series in Centurion on Saturday.
India lead South Africa by five points and need to win two matches in order to stop falling behind the Proteas.
AB de Villiers' masterly 85 in his 100th test could not gloss over South Africa's spin frailty as India took charge of the second Test after dominating the opening day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players have even figured in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
Irish captain William Porterfield not getting pressured by the daring batting of De Villiers
It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Following his impressive batting show in India's 5-0 series win over Sri Lanka, where he was named the man of the series, Virat Kohli has moved to second place in the ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen.
The second day's play of the second Test match between India and South Africa in Bengaluru on Sunday was called off without a ball being bowled because of rain.
The West Indian has blasted his way to the top of Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup with the South African skipper close on his heels.
Led by Daniel Vettori, New Zealand had batted first and posted 221 for 8 in 50 overs. In reply, the Proteas were bowled out for 172 with du Plessis, playing in only his 10th ODI, making 36.
South Africa skipper Faf Du Plessis says his team's batting firepower is dangerous for the rivals at the World Twenty20 as they gear up to clash with England, in Mumbai on Friday. Du Plessis said the team has enjoyed success at the Wankhede stadium and those good memories will spur them on to put up another good show. "Definitely, AB (De Villiers) is in good form at the moment and playing some good cricket. And past performances play a massive role when you come to the ground. As few of us did well against India in the final match in ODI series (played at the Wankhede stadium), and you use that to reflect on and try to repeat that performance," Du Plessis told reporters at the pre-match media conference. He said not only AB de Villiers but other batsmen in the side are also in good form. "Looking forward to see what AB (De Villiers) does for us in the tournament, but as I mentioned we have a few guys who are looking good and whole batting line up looks in good form and it is a dangerous sign for the opposition, it's just about putting together on the day," Du Plessis said.
The Proteas' performance in the recent series against Pakistan in Dubai augured well for the 2015 World Cup but their real test will be the upcoming home series against India, according to former captain Kepler Wessels.
Also included is fast bowler Anrich Nortje, but in-form opening batsman Temba Bavuma will have to prove his fitness after injuring his hamstring against England on Sunday.
Robin Peterson and AB de Villiers hauled South Africa back into the game on the third day of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands on Saturday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji analyse Week 3 of IPL-11 in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.
Two Indian batsmen are now in the top five of the ICC ODI rankings, with Virat Kohli remaining at number three and opener Shikhar Dhawan climbing up the ladder to fifth after earning four places in the latest list issued on Wednesday.
Off-spinner R Ashwin, who has been phenomenal in home conditions, has made it to the Test team as the 12th man, while pacer Mohammed Shami has been included in the ODI team.
Despite the painful semi-final loss to New Zealand in Auckland in the World Cup, South African fans and media went easy on its cricket team. A long history of failure at the tournament has often put the Proteas at the sharp end of stinging criticism from the demanding media and fans back home.
South Africa have named uncapped batsman Theunis de Bruyn in their injury-hit squad for the three-match home Test series against Sri Lanka that starts on December 26.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances