5 times AB de Villiers the tormentor turned protector

#5 52* off 92 balls vs England, Durban 2004

The England tour of South Africa in 2004 saw the debuts of two South African legends - Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers! While Dale Steyn took some time to settle into the national set-up, De Villiers was in the thick of things right from his 2nd test match.

The second test of the tour was a pendulum of swinging fortunes as England, after conceding a deficit of 193 runs in the first innings, stormed back into the match by making 570 runs in the 2nd innings before declaring and setting South Africa a strong target of 378 runs.

South Africa were tottering at 173/6 when De Villiers entered the scene. He saw his team reduced to 183/7 and the hosts still had to bat 30 more overs to salvage a draw. Would it be too much to ask of 20-year-old De Villiers, who was playing just his 2nd test match? Will the inexperience be exposed?

De Villiers batted purposely and didn't panic. He found an able partner in veteran Shaun Pollock and they steered South Africa to safety by batting for 162 balls. South Africa escaped with a draw and they had De Villiers's 95-ball 52 at to be grateful for.

As it turned out, this was just the sign of things to come as De Villiers would go on to make and break innumerable records for South Africa and stake his claim as arguably the best batsman of the world.