Castle Lager Proteas limited-overs captain AB de Villiers is looking forward to the opportunity of giving extra focus to his captaincy in the upcoming Momentum ODI series against New Zealand.
Young bizhub Highveld Lions wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock will assume the responsibility behind the stumps, giving de Villiers more time to explore his leadership and to communicate with his bowlers on the field.
“I found it really difficult with the gloves in hand,” he said on communicating with his players. “I think it will be a whole new experience for me not being behind the stumps. I will obviously have the freedom to communicate with the bowlers and I will have a lot more time without the keeping responsibility on my shoulders.
“I’m looking forward to interacting a lot better with my bowlers and getting better knowledge of their thoughts and game plans. It will be nice to have a say on that side of the captaincy.”
De Villiers, who has yet to lose a series since taking over the ODI captaincy in 2011, has the opportunity to add to his wins against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and a drawn series against England in the three-match series starting at Boland Park on Saturday.
He remains mindful of the unpredictable nature of limited-overs cricket, despite the visitors lying in a lowly ninth position on the ICC ODI team rankings.
“We will take it one game at a time but it will be great if we win the series,” De Villiers said ahead of the opener in Paarl.
“We know this game too well, you can’t get ahead of yourself. It has a funny way of biting you when you look too far ahead.”
