The sporting world bids farewell to a modern day legend as Abraham Benjamin - 'AB' to you and I - De Villiers has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket following a career with South Africa that has spanned more than 13 years since his Test debut in 2004. 'Mr 360' redefined certain areas of the sport with his unorthodox shots and breathtaking fielding, while he walks away from the international arena with 8,765 Test runs, 9,577 One day International runs and 1,672 T20 International runs under his belt. We take a look back at four of De Villiers' finest innings for South Africa...
A Record Breaker
De Villiers wrote his name into the record books with his sensational innings of 149 off 44 balls against West Indies in Johannesburg on 18 January 2015. A brutal assault of batting took him to the fastest 50 in ODI history as it came off just 16 balls and there was no let up in the fireworks as he would go on to rack up his 100 off just 31 balls to set the platform for a comprehensive Proteas win at The Wanderers Stadium. The Windies' bowling attack of Jerome Taylor, Jason Holder and co. may not have been up to much but it was a breathtaking innings and De Villiers would dish out more pain for the Caribbean side a month later as he thrashed the fastest 150 in ODI history (off 64 balls) in a World Cup pool match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 27 February 2015.
- Test matches: 114
- ODIs: 228
- T20s: 78
- Runs: 20014
- 100s: 47
- 50s: 109
He'll be missed!
A Trial By Spin
De Villiers certainly wasn't a flat-track bully as he showed during a Test match innings off 217 not out against India at Ahmedabad in 2008. South Africa skittled India for 76 all out but the tourists were wobbling at 117 for 4 before De Villiers righted the ship with an innings spanning 333 balls, which set up the Proteas for a famous win by an innings and 90 runs.
Backs To The Wall
It wasn't all 'bish-bash-bosh' batting from De Villiers either as he was capable of adapting his style according to the match situation, not least when scoring 33 off 220 balls to help save a Test match against Australia in November 2012. Set a mammoth 429 to win at Adelaide, South Africa were 45 for 4 when De Villiers came to the crease and he produced a 'Brigadier Block' effort to eat up valuable time in the match, with his good friend, Faff Du Plessis, finishing 110 not out. Geoffrey Boycott would be proud of De Villiers' strike-rate of 15 that day.
History Maker
Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel had skittled England for 203 in the 2008 Test match at Headingley, Leeds, and De Villiers' first innings 174 set the platform for South Africa to win by 10 wickets. It was a victory that set the Proteas on their way to a 2-1 series win - South Africa's first series win in England since their readmission to the Test arena. The innings also provided the basis for De Villiers to enjoy his best year in Test cricket as he scored 1061 runs at an average of 58.94 during a stunning 12-month period.
De Villiers will be greatly missed at international level but thankfully we will still be able to see him producing moments of magic like this stunning catch in the IPL for a few more years yet...
