World Cup 2015: South Africa’s AB De Villiers threat to teams

By Anand Vasu, Wisden India

On the back of grey skies and a persistent drizzle, an unstoppable force breezed into Auckland ahead of the weekend. AB de Villiers, in red-hot form, has refused to be denied thus far in South Africa’s campaign and has been the beating heart of the run-making in what has largely been a batting World Cup.

His visceral hitting, both traditional and innovative, has lit up stadia and driven bowlers to despair. The question before teams now isn’t so much how to beat South Africa, but how to stop de Villiers.

Certainly, de Villiers is not alone. Hashim Amla is up to his usual tricks, scoring comfortably at better than a run-a-ball. David Miller and Rilee Rossouw have muscled the ball around as well.

If South Africa’s bat ting has become a major factor, the bowling has done so well that someone such as Vernon Philander has been forced to sit out. Dale Steyn lays down the early markers, Kyle Abbott has pace and energy, Morne Morkel brings bounce and Imran Tahir has mopped up wickets at every possible chance.

To this batting and bowling add South Africa’s razor-sharp fielding, and you have a team that is going to be very hard to beat. Certainly, the likes of New Zealand and Australia have the bowling attacks to beat anyone, and India will believe their batting can more than make up for shortcomings elsewhere. But, what of Pakistan, who are South Africa’s next opponents?

Although they have rediscovered winning ways, Pakistan are yet to make any sort of significant statement. The batting has been wobbly, the bowling erratic and the team selections downright baffling. Nasir Jamshed has been given a long rope, but with every passing innings and dropped catch, it appears the only thing he can do with that is tie himself up in knots.

The whole world believes that Sarfraz Ahmed, should replace Jamshed at the top of the order, indeed that this should have already happened, but Pakistan’s think tank disagrees. Younis Khan has made the long journey to Australia and New Zealand, but can’t find a place in the XI. If Younis was not a part of Pakistan’s plans, what was the point in picking him in the first place? One of these two should get a look-in against South Africa, with Haris Sohail struggling with an inflamed heel.

If the batting line-up is a conundrum, the composition of the bowling attack is hardly straightforward. Yasir Shah, the legspinner, was given a go against India, and has since been more or less forgotten, even against teams that traditionally struggle against wrist spinners. Misbah was quick to point out Eden Park’s short straight boundaries, and the presence of Shahid Afridi, suggesting that Yasir might spend a bit more time warming the bench.

The days when Pakistan could fall back on the individual brilliance of one player to stun the opposition and get them across the line are long gone. Although the likes of Ahmad Shehzad and Umar Akmal are certainly capable of big performances, there isn’t one batsman in this line-up who compares to the likes of de Villiers. If Pakistan are worried about this, they’re not letting on, and it’s worth remembering that this is a team that is making do without some of its clutch players.

How many top teams would mount a serious challenge in a World Cup if you took key players out of their campaigns? Pakistan have managed to hang in there, occasionally by only a thread.