Is AB de Villiers underrated in Tests?

[Hasan123]

Ranking AB de Villiers as a Test match batsman

Where does Ab rank in terms of test match batsmen. In odis he's brilliant. In tests he's played some good knocks but where do we rank him.

He's not a tier 1 Test match player but is he tier 2/ tier 3 test match player.

For me he's not an atg test match player but a player who was world class throughout his test career. Think he could achieved more especially after Smith and Kallis retired.

How about you guys?

 

[Mamoon]

Among the batsmen who have made their debuts in this millennium, he is behind:

Sangakkara
Cook
Amla
Clarke
Pietersen
Younis

He doesn't have a legacy in Tests. His stats are great but most of the time he has just been there. South African during their dominant era were carried by Steyn, Kallis, Smith and Amla. In comparison, de Villiers was less influential.

He is to Tests what Amla is to ODIs; wonderful stats, but lack of impact.

A very good/excellent Test batsman but not one of the modern greats.

 

[Hasan123]

Among the batsmen who have made their debuts in this millennium, he is behind:

Sangakkara
Cook
Amla
Clarke
Pietersen
Younis

He doesn't have a legacy in Tests. His stats are great but most of the time he has just been there. South African during their dominant era were carried by Steyn, Kallis, Smith and Amla. In comparison, de Villiers was less influential.

He is to Tests what Amla is to ODIs; wonderful stats, but lack of impact.

A very good/excellent Test batsman but not one of the modern greats.

Well summed up. The only innings people talk about with Ab is the innings vs Australia where he made 30 odd for about 200 balls. He hasn't done an innings like that too much so the fact that is brought up so much shows he's not as good in tests compared to LO

 

[Slog]

He's won South Africa tests and series in Australia when Aussies were pretty much unbeatable at home and hadn't lost a home series for 2 decades almost.

And he's won matches in India and played important roles in wins everywhere else

Home matches there's a lot of good performances

His insane and unbelievable ODI exploits take the shine away from his world class test record

 

[Sidilicious]

He's won South Africa tests and series in Australia when Aussies were pretty much unbeatable at home and hadn't lost a home series for 2 decades almost.

And he's won matches in India and played important roles in wins everywhere else

Home matches there's a lot of good performances

His insane and unbelievable ODI exploits take the shine away from his world class test record

I think you're talking about Amla. AB was never instrumental in a test win in India.

 

[Slog]

I think you're talking about Amla. AB was never instrumental in a test win in India.

scored an unbeaten double century in 2008 to win a test. Steyn was brilliant in that match too

 

[Buffet]

AB is just below Amla in the last 10 years. He has performed very well everywhere and same thing can't be said about most batsmen. He can also play in multiple gears and very few can do that. Folks have too high a expectations due to his ODI exploits, but his test performance is very good.

 

[Sidilicious]

scored an unbeaten double century in 2008 to win a test. Steyn was brilliant in that match too

fair point. forgot the abd scored runs there.

 

[Yatoo]

How is Clarke above ABD? [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

 

[Slog]

AB is just below Amla in the last 10 years. He has performed very well everywhere and same thing can't be said about most batsmen. He can also play in multiple gears and very few can do that. Folks have too high a expectations due to his ODI exploits, but his test performance is very good.

Sometimes i think his high risk - high excitement game has been to his detriment as far as racking up statistics is concerned

 

[Buffet]

Sometimes i think his high risk - high excitement game has been to his detriment as far as racking up statistics is concerned

He doesn't have bad stats by any means to be honest. He has done very well at home. If you take outside of home then he has done very well as well in the last 10 years. He is overrated in ODI and underrated in the test format by many in PP. Check his last 10 years outside of home.



You can argue that he should have done even better, but that's a different issue.

 

[sajeebmcj]

He doesn't have bad stats by any means to be honest. He has done very well at home. If you take outside of home then he has done very well as well in the last 10 years. He is overrated in ODI and underrated in the test format by many in PP. Check his last 10 years outside of home.

View attachment 70549

You can argue that he should have done even better, but that's a different issue.

in test, he is underrated in pp. probably he is the 3rd -4th best batsman of rhe decade.
but he is not overrated in odi. i think he is among top three odi batsman ever along wirh viv and sachin

 

[Ab Fan]

Better than Cook and Clarke..

Behind Amla, KP and Younis.

These are the memorable away knocks I remember of him:

106 at Perth to win the match in Aus
174 at Headingley
217 at Ahmadabad
278 at Abu Dhabi
169 at Perth to win a test series in Aus


He was the only one to do well vs ATG mode Johnson who ran through England and Saffers line up in that season.

Was the standout performer from his team in India series where pitches were not good enough to succeed at as compared to what is served for NZ and England.

 

[Barragan]

In the Chanderpaul and Jayawardene category.

 

[Mamoon]

How is Clarke above ABD? [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

Clarke did a lot for Australia during their crisis period. Australia was a one man Test team during 2011/2012, when the likes of Ponting and Hussey were over the hill and the likes of Smith and Warner were still novices. The way Clarke carried the team on his back with his batting while he also had the pressure of captaining the team was quite remarkable.

de Villiers has had a soft Test career. For the most part, he was in the shadow of players like Smith, Kallis, Amla etc. and after the retirement of the former two, once the level of responsibility grew, he started to contemplate retirement from Tests.

South Africa need him now more than they needed him at any point in his Test career and he has given enough hints that he is having second thoughts over his Test future. In fact, many people believe that he made the Test captain by CSA to force him to not retire.

 

[Bilal7]

A great batsman but not ATG material. Doesn't have as many impactful innings or enough series in which he dominated.

Better than Cook and Clarke..

Behind Amla, KP and Younis.

These are the memorable away knocks I remember of him:

106 at Perth to win the match in Aus
174 at Headingley
217 at Ahmadabad
278 at Abu Dhabi
169 at Perth to win a test series in Aus


He was the only one to do well vs ATG mode Johnson who ran through England and Saffers line up in that season.

Was the standout performer from his team in India series where pitches were not good enough to succeed at as compared to what is served for NZ and England.

Amla and AB both countered MJ pretty well. However, the rest of the lineup got trounced and the bowlers were outbowled which is why the Saffers lost that series.

Was the best South African in India though.

 

[Hasan123]

If his test career was to finish today, where would you rank him?

 

[Hasan123]

In odis I rate him atg but in tests don't think he's quite there. Hope he continues and doesn't retire.

 

[Bilal7]

His test career isn't over. He'll be back, as long as his rehabilitation works well enough.

 

[Hasan123]

Bump


Seems as though his test career is coming to an end, so where do you rank AB as a test player?

 

[Bilal7]

South Africa's fourth greatest test batsman behind Kallis, Amla and Smith. From his generation he's in the top ten but behind Amla, Sanga, Younis, KP, Cook and maybe Clarke.

 

[Haroon786]

Sometimes i think his high risk - high excitement game has been to his detriment as far as racking up statistics is concerned

His batting in Tests is hardly high risk.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

AB is a modern great and definitely top 5 test batsmen who debuted after 2000 easily. I am still hesitant to put AB above Sanga since Sanga had many, many grand knocks and played far more matches which shows his consistency over time. Recently AB got quite a few ducks which has brought down his average quite a bit, which shows that most players can't sustain high average over a long period (Ponting, Hayden both averaged 58+ in their prime before form dipped). Had ABD played 130 tests he might've become an ATG. But 100 test is still too low for modern batsmen.

 

[vandokkum]

Nowhere near the top test batsmen of this generation. Didn't even have the courage to call it quits.

 

[vandokkum]

South Africa's fourth greatest test batsman behind Kallis, Amla and Smith. From his generation he's in the top ten but behind Amla, Sanga, Younis, KP, Cook and maybe Clarke.

Gary kirsten was a better test batsman than De Villiers

 

[Mamoon]

His talented should have been bestowed on a greater man.

 

[vandokkum]

His talented should have been bestowed on a greater man.

Steve Smith with the talent of de villiers? Could be the greatest batsman ever

 

[Mamoon]

Steve Smith with the talent of de villiers? Could be the greatest batsman ever

Or even his own mate, du Plessis.

He has character for sure.

 

[SLcric123]

BUMP! Think the thread was too harsh on him.

 

[Ab Fan]

He is not a test ATG but this thread was way too harsh on him.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

He's too good. Conditions don't matter when this freak is batting.

 

[bujhee kom]

He is a great player. Maybe not tier 1 ATG but definitely a great.

 

[Fahdi]

Not an ATG but definitely a South African legend. The most gifted batsman I have ever seen without a doubt.

 

[Outswinger]

Hope he can get a daddy century at the Wanderers. He is outrageously talented.

 

[TeymurBlake]

He's a quality test batsman but isn't one of the all time greats. He's really solid and tends to perform more so that not but he's definitely a solid test batsman.

 

[Chrish]

Sad he wasted all his talent.. Hope he plays in Aus series and helps his team

 

[jnaveen1980]

He is a gifted batsman. But he didn't do justice to his batting potential.

 

[Protea Fan]

On par with any great batsman of this generation,people always expect something unreal every time when they hear the name de villiers and always sets some benchmark that's the reason why he's not getting the deserving recognition

If only AB de Villiers didn't make a comeback to test cricket and sat out of this series,India could well have won both tests

His quickness and reflexes are just incomparable,he just read the game so well and changed his mood depending to the situations

If first test it was the counter attacking in second tests its a calm and composed innings.Only a man with long range of shots and solid technique can be this much versatile

 

[Slog]

I have always maintained he and Gayle are severely underrated in their Test match legacy due to their groundbeaking success in the shortest format

If AB gets to 10,000 rums he will be an ATG

 

[Robert]

For a while I thought he was as good as Sir Viv Richards, the best batsman I ever saw.

 

[hk031992]

On par with any great batsman of this generation,people always expect something unreal every time when they hear the name de villiers and always sets some benchmark that's the reason why he's not getting the deserving recognition

If only AB de Villiers didn't make a comeback to test cricket and sat out of this series,India could well have won both tests

His quickness and reflexes are just incomparable,he just read the game so well and changed his mood depending to the situations

If first test it was the counter attacking in second tests its a calm and composed innings.Only a man with long range of shots and solid technique can be this much versatile

not only does he have a lot of shots and good technique but he has an amazing temperament. Not every talented cricketer has a good temperament.

 

[Ab Fan]

Well, so much is said about his ability and talent and that he has got the talent of Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar combined together and is the greatest talent of last 150 years of cricket history and what not, it has yet been an absolute waste.

Dont you think he still has done excellent in test cricket and to a good extent has done a lot of justice to his mercurial talent? Is his ability grossly overhyped to undermine the player he is?

He might have under-achieved in test cricket but still has scored runs all over the world, in all kinds of conditions and against the best bowling attacks too. Even in latter part of his career, he looked in a different league to any other SA batsmen against what is arguably the best bowling attack in the world.

What's your take on it? Discuss!

 

[hk031992]

Well, so much is said about his ability and talent and that he has got the talent of Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar combined together and is the greatest talent of last 150 years of cricket history and what not, it has yet been an absolute waste.

Dont you think he still has done excellent in test cricket and to a good extent has done a lot of justice to his mercurial talent? Is his ability grossly overhyped to undermine the player he is?

He might have under-achieved in test cricket but still has scored runs all over the world, in all kinds of conditions and against the best bowling attacks too. Even in latter part of his career, he looked in a different league to any other SA batsmen against what is arguably the best bowling attack in the world.

What's your take on it? Discuss!

Great batsmen. I would easily pick him in a 2010's test XI. There is no sane person who would pick Kohli or Root over him IMO.

In this decade, apart from Smith and Sangakarra, i am not sure if i rank anyone ahead of him.

I do think he has slightly underachieved. But he has scored runs everywhere and against all kinds of bowling in all kinds of conditions, as you stated. I don't care so much about the quantity of runs as i do about the quality.

He is a first tier ATG in tests in terms of ability and a second tier in terms of achievement. There are guys who scored more 100's and runs (like Dravid or Younis) but anyone who can actually see and understand the sport knows AB is a better player than them.

Look at the knock today- superb. Never looked in trouble. He was facing three wonderful pace bowlers, all of whom are very different from each other, and he never looked like it bothered him one bit.

 

[shane]

I always thought he was highly overrated. Most of the South Africans are, come to think of it.

 

[Ted123]

Really underrated. He is a better test batsmen than Cook and as good as Amla.

His test career got overshadowed due to his fabulous odi record. An ATG without any shadow of the doubt.

 

[Majestic]

[MENTION=141114]Hasan123[/MENTION]

 

[Lefthanded]

If Viv had played today, some people would've found a way to criticise him for playing past his best, some failures, and argued that he isn't an ATG.

Can't imagine that people who have seen ABD's best knocks without prejudice wouldn't think that they were watching a singular batsman whose greatness wasn't impeded by stats.

People also forget that he kept wicket for a long time when it wasn't great for his back.

A couple of years of brilliance from the likes of AB is worth more than the 12,000+ runs of Cook.

Many people watch the game for more than just stats and results but for matches that they'll never forget.

AB has been part of enough of them.

 

[Ab Fan]

Quality wise, right up there with the best.
Just falls short a bit in quantity.

 

[Proactive_]

Comes back after a year and straightaway wins two series for his team against India and Aus. Don't think he is ATG in Tests yet but he is very very close.