The greatest men's internationals of the century No. 6: AB de Villiers

Live Scores Matches (14) IRE vs NZ (1) Asian Games Qualifier (2) Vitality Blast Men (2) Vitality Blast Women (4) T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier A (3) RESULT Qualifier 1 • IPL • Dharamsala (19.3/20 ov, T:255) 162 RCB won by 92 runsScheduleTable UpcomingEliminator • IPL • New Chandigarh Match yet to beginScheduleTable UpcomingOnly Test • Belfast Match yet to beginSchedule Innings break Asian Games Qualifier • Kuala Lumpur (20 ov) 82/7 MAS Women chose to bat.ScheduleTable UpcomingAsian Games Qualifier • Kuala Lumpur Match starts in3hrs2minsScheduleTable RESULT Vitality Blast Men • Southampton (20 ov, T:201) 170/7 Hampshire won by 30 runsScheduleTable RESULT Vitality Blast Women • Southampton (20 ov, T:161) 137/9 HAM Women won by 23 runsScheduleTable RESULTGaborone (Oval 2) (5.2/20 ov, T:50) 53/2 Rwanda won by 8 wickets (with 88 balls remaining)ScheduleTable RESULTGaborone (Oval 2) (17.2/20 ov, T:184) 31 Cameroon won by 152 runsScheduleTable RESULTGaborone (Oval 1) (20 ov, T:136) 97/9 Kenya won by 38 runsScheduleTable UpcomingVitality Blast Men • Leicester Match yet to beginScheduleTable UpcomingVitality Blast Women • Birmingham Match yet to beginScheduleTable UpcomingVitality Blast Women • The Oval Match yet to beginScheduleTable UpcomingVitality Blast Women • Taunton Match yet to beginScheduleTable The greatest men's internationals of the century No. 6: AB de Villiers 24minFirdose Moonda Patidar, bringing the powerplay to the middle overs 2hKarthik Krishnaswamy The made-to-order RCB plan that outsmarted GT 1hShashank Kishore Stats - High-flying Patidar takes RCB to highest total in IPL playoffs 9hSampath Bandarupalli Gill admits GT's ground fielding 'not up to mark' 8hESPNcricinfo staff From hunted to hunters: Inside RCB's transformation 1dShashank Kishore Ireland host rare home Test as New Zealand seek red-ball rhythm 9hAndrew Fidel Fernando 'A great little refresh' - Ravindra on leaving IPL early and spending time in NZ before UK tour 3dDeivarayan Muthu With 'a bit of Kumble' in him, Yash Raj Punja becomes RR's spin X-factor 11hDeivarayan Muthu Explosive top orders in focus as RR face bogey team SRH 12hAshish Pant Eliminator tactics board: Archer, Punja key against SRH's batting might 19hSidharth Monga Franklin all praise for 'strong, fast and athletic' Nitish Kumar Reddy 9hDeivarayan Muthu Dani Gibson reprises allrounder role to give England World Cup boost 1dValkerie Baynes Gibson, Dean knock over NZ for 80 as England cruise to series win 1dValkerie Baynes England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt out of New Zealand, India T20Is 7dESPNcricinfo staff The greatest men's international cricketers of the century The greatest men's internationals of the century No. 7: Kumar Sangakkara 1dAndrew Fidel Fernando The greatest men's internationals of the century No. 8: Dale Steyn 2dFirdose Moonda The greatest men's internationals of the century No. 9: Joe Root 3dAlan Gardner The greatest men's internationals of the century No. 10: Steven Smith 4dAlex Malcolm The greatest men's internationals of the century: Nos. 13 to 11 The greatest men's internationals of the century: Nos. 16 to 14 The greatest men's internationals of the century: Nos. 19 to 17 The greatest men's internationals of the century: Nos. 22 to 20 The greatest men's internationals of the century: Nos. 25 to 23 The Greatest International Cricketers 2000-2025 The greatest men's internationals of the century No. 6: AB de Villiers When AB was at the crease, no part of the ground was safe Firdose Moonda Published: May 27, 2026, 2:34 AM (24 mins ago) AB delivers: there's 360 degrees of separation between ball and fielder when de Villiers is batting • Lee Warren/Getty Images 6. AB de Villiers Overall: 20,014 runs at 48.11 ave; 219 dismissals De Villiers defied physics and geometry with his ability to hit the ball anywhere in a cricket ground and out of it. He combined the classics of timing through the covers and a placement on the pull with innovation, which meant that before the scoop, paddle and ramp shot were regularly part of batters' repertoires, he was playing them, and playing them against some of the world's best. He approached batting with the concentration of a monk and the creativity of an artist, in that order.

From a stable head with eyes on the ball, he used the crease well and played with soft hands and quick wrists. A natural athlete, de Villiers was also quick between the wickets and exceptional behind the stumps. He served as South Africa's designated wicketkeeper between 2012 and 2015 and as ODI captain between 2012 and 2017. In that format, he led from the front and registered 53 fifties and 25 centuries in an ODI career of 228 games.

His brutal strokeplay earned him the format's fastest fifty (off 16 balls), and hundred (off 31 balls) in the same match, and the fastest 150 (off 64 balls), which remain records to this day. He also continues to hold South Africa's highest ODI average: 54.17. The numbers Tests: 8765 runs, 50.66 ave; 94 dismissals ODIs: 9577 runs, 53.50 ave; 97 dismissals T20Is: 1672 runs, 135.16 SR; 28 dismissals While headline writers will remember those feats, de Villiers' ability to turn Tests around with innings that injected impetus into the match was equally unmatched. The standout example was his 169 against Australia in Perth in 2012.

JP Duminy on AB de Villiers: AB de Villiers is one of the greatest players I've played with and watched, and the characteristic that stands out is his timing on the ball, especially when facing some of the quickest and best bowlers in the world.There was minimal foot movement, and an ability to have great timing and an unbelievable eye. There are two distinct moments I remember: one was 2014, it was a Test match at Centurion and Mitchell Johnson was bowling at the speed of light. When you watched AB de Villiers, it looked like the guy was bowling at 130. He had so much time on the ball, and the ability to hit in front of square quite comfortably, where most of us could only really get the ball behind square.

The second one was an ODI we played at Wanderers against England. I remember batting with him and he was facing Stuart Broad. In his first three balls, he double-stepped him and smacked him back over his head for six. Why that stood out was his ability to have the confidence and commitment to do something out of the ordinary and to change momentum within the game.

And now, playing in the WCL with him this year, it felt like he hasn't lost anything, really. The greatest men's internationals: the list, jury and method Stats are for the 2000-2025 period AB de VilliersSouth Africa Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's senior correspondent for Africa and women's cricket Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • EU Privacy Rights • Cookie Policy • Feedback