"Take off that hat because you’re not worthy of wearing that" - AB de Villiers recalls the moment his Jonty Rhodes' cap was trampled
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers recalled an incident from childhood when one of his brother’s friends crushed his Jonty Rhodes cap while playing cricket.
De Villiers played 415 international matches for the Proteas in a career spanning almost 14 years and finished as the country’s second-most run-scorer with 19864 runs across formats, only behind Jacques Kallis.
While growing up, De Villiers idolized Jonty Rhodes, one of the best fielders in the history of cricket. An 11-year-old de Villiers bought a cap of Jhonty Rhodes when he went to watch a game at Centurion Park.
While narrating the incident to Robin Uthappa on Jio Cinema’s show Home of Heroes, the 39-year-old said:
“I was 11 years old when I went to Centurion Park for the first time. I watched my first live game. I saw Shaun Pollock getting his first wicket and I remember going to the nets and I watched Jonty Rhodes hit balls and there was someone selling caps and balls, like most cricket grounds. And I saw this green and gold Jonty Rhodes cap and I got my dad to buy it for me.”
De Villiers didn’t have fond memories with the Jonty Rhodes cap as his brother’s friend destroyed the cap while playing a game. The reason was a dropped catch by a young ABD. Speaking about how that incident shattered him, De Villiers said:
“I’m in the field and it’s one up, one end, and I dropped one and one of my brother’s oldest friends. He was bowling and I dropped the catch of his bowling, and he came to me, and he said, take off that hat because you’re not worthy of wearing that. And he sort of stepped on it. And I was broken, and I was shattered.”
"You are destined to play for the Proteas" - AB de Villiers' message to Faf du Plessis
AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis share a great bond right from their school days. They shared a room at Affies (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool) from 1998 to 2002. At the age of 15, they represented their school’s first cricket team.
The duo formed a crucial part of the Proteas batting unit for eight years as well. Although De Villiers’ selection for the national side was a fast-forward process, Du Plessis had to agonizingly wait for his international cap. There was a seven-year difference between their South Africa debut.
Du Plessis was almost set to sign a Kolpak deal to play for one of the English county clubs. But it was AB de Villiers who gave him the hope to play international cricket amid tough times. Speaking about how he convinced his childhood friend, AB de Villiers said:
“He finally went to England, played a bit there, and I think there was a hunger and desire for him that realized, you know what, I actually want to play for South Africa. He came back, I remember him calling me and saying, Listen, why do you think I said, you are destined to play for the Proteas, come back, come and do your thing.”
He added:
“And it wasn’t long after that I think six months later, he scored some hundreds, I think three in a row domestically. We finally ended up playing together and it was an incredible moment for us to find the two of us in the same team and having fun with and giving our best for South Africa.”
De Villiers retired from all formats of the game in November 2021, while Du Plessis is still playing franchise cricket across the globe.