Dubai: Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith feels the game will get to see a lot more of his countryman AB de Villiers’ exploits as a batsman. De Villiers, who succeeded Smith as South African team captain in one-day format, had scored the fastest century in world cricket off just 31 balls and went on to score 149 runs off just 44 balls against West Indies to become one of the world’s most feared batsmen in the game today.
Smith gave an exclusive interview to Gulf News on a visit to the DPS Academy on Saturday. He is in Dubai to present the Shyam Bhatia awards.
“Right from a young age, De Villiers has been extremely talented, he said.
"Obviously, it’s very exciting to see him perform the way he is performing now. I think he has just matured and has got to an age where he understands his game and his ability. It is incredible from a cricket perspective that he is performing so well and he is such an exciting player to watch. I am very happy he is South African.”
De Villiers had excelled in variety of sports apart from cricket like hockey, golf, rugby, badminton and tennis during schooldays like Smith did as a rugby player. When asked whether playing other sports does help in becoming a good cricketer, Smith said: “For me, it is important that kids are outdoors and they get active. In modern society there are so many challenges that the kids face, so many different distractions. It is just fantastic to see kids playing sport. Other thing about sport is they get to meet a lot of people, make a lot of new friends and it is very important in the development of a child.”
Smith then went on to explain why South Africa produces exceptional talents like De Villiers. “We are a very sporting nation. The biggest heroes in South Africa are often sportspersons and we have a lot of heroes to look up to.”
However, Smith admitted that South Africa failing to win the World Cup this time was a shattering experience. “It was obviously very disappointing as everyone had hoped we would be in the final to play Australia. It will take a while to overcome the disappointment. I think there is so much talent in South African cricket that we will always do well. The team has been No.1 in Test format for close to six years and that is a great achievement and hopefully we will see them continue to perform really well.”
Smith holds the record for leading a country in maximum number of matches after taking over the captaincy at the age of 22. Asked what makes a great captain, he said: “You need a lot of different capabilities when you are a leader. First is to get the best out of people and you need to able to make quick tactical cricketing decisions on the field. I believe it is all about people in a team environment and how you want to get the best out of all your teammates. So if you can be good with people, it really helps to be a good captain.”
