AB de Villiers ready for day-night test
Jun 11, 2016 at 11:56 AM
After initially expressing his concerns over playing the day-night test, South Africa captain AB de Villiers is finally satisfied with the latest development surrounding the pink-ball Test in Adelaide this summer, saying he only ‘did what any captain should do’ by asking questions.
Earlier, it was confirmed that the final Test of the three-match series between Australia and South Africa later this year will be played with the pink ball at the Adelaide Oval, despite players expressing their concerns from both teams about playing with the pink ball.
“I did what any captain should have done,” he said on Friday (June 10). “I asked good questions, fought a little bit in a way to make sure we had the best opportunity to win a game of cricket and we had a fair chance. I’m happy with whatever happened in the press, I’ve got no hard feelings. I had to ask my questions, so did CSA and we all seem to be on the same page now. That’s the most important thing.”
Cricket Australia’s announcement that the Proteas will have two warm-up games with a pink ball – including one in Adelaide – before the day-night encounter has also made de Villiers happy.
“That was another concern and that’s been cleared up completely,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about – to make sure we walk onto the pitch knowing that we’ve got the best possible opportunity to win a Test match for our country.
“Whether you’re playing with a pink ball, white ball or red ball, we just want to have a fair chance and those two games really give us the perfect opportunity to prepare. And secondly, playing at Adelaide, that’s the way we wanted it from the beginning. It seemed like we were losing control at one stage, but now it’s definitely happening there so happy days. Ready to move forward.”
Now that the matter is finally settled, de Villiers said that his team is happy to be a part of the latest innovation and hoped the latest format to be highly successful.
“I was pretty confused when it first happened, when the first game was played I didn’t know where it was going. And I still don’t know where it’s going to go in the future.
“You don’t want to be part of something that just fades away. And vice versa – you don’t want to stand up against something that’s going to dominate cricket in the future. We’re just happy to be a part of it now and we’ll assess as it moves forward and hopefully it does happen in all countries and hopefully it’ll be a big hit.”