AB de Villiers ready to play Day-Night Tests after initial reluctance
After the decks had been cleared for his country’s inaugural day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide, South African skipper AB de Villiers has admitted that there are still concerns regarding the feasibility of cricket’s latest innovation.
Speaking to reporters in the Caribbean where his team is currently in the midst of a tight Tri-Series, the popular cricketer explained how South Africa’s hesitancy to embrace pink-ball cricket was overcome to a certain extent.
De Villiers enthused, “I did what any captain should have done. 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.“
Reflecting on the conversation with his national board, the 32-year old revealed, “I had to ask my questions, so did CSA (Cricket South Africa) and we all seem to be on the same page now. That's the most important thing.”
Satisfied with the scheduling of two practice matches with the pink-ball which includes one in Adelaide as well, de Villiers affirmed, “That was another concern and that's been cleared up completely. 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.”
He added, “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.“
However, the dynamic right-hander was not entirely convinced about the future of day-night Tests. De Villiers felt, “I don't know where it's going to go, I must be very honest with you. 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.”
Looking ahead to the historic occasion, he noted, “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. Hopefully, it does happen in all countries and hopefully it'll be a big hit.”