"I almost feel like all hope is gone” – De Villiers
After falling to a crushing series defeat to England inside three days at the Wanderers on Saturday, Proteas captain AB de Villiers struggled to explain why his side produced such a deflating performance.
South Africa were bowled out for 83 in their second innings – their second lowest innings total post isolation – meaning England only had to knock off 74 to win the match and the series 2-0. They did so comfortably by seven wickets, signalling the first time England had beaten South Africa on their home turf since the 2004/2005 series which the visitors won 2-1.
“I’m very disappointed obviously. It’s tough to lose the series, there’s still a lot to play for. It’s never nice to lose a series. I almost feel like all hope is gone,” said De Villiers.
“We mostly tried and slow things down today. We had quite a few chats in the changeroom with the batters and guys going in. I tried everything I could personally, I believe my fellow teammates also did. It’s difficult to explain how these kind of things happen, we have to give credit to the England bowlers and the team.”
Chief destroyer for England was fast bowler Stuart Broad who ripped through the South African batting lineup, dismissing every top six batsman on his way to incredible figures of 6/17 from 12.1 overs in the second innings.
“Thats some of the best bowling I’ve faced from their whole unit. Conditions suited them really well and they made full use of that. They asked a lot of questions, right throughout our innings. They didn’t ask as many questions in the first innings, and that’s where I thought we missed a trick. This time around they were spot on, they were a little bit fuller in their lengths and they asked questions all the time. The ball was moving around a lot, but they showed some good skill and you have to give them credit for that, especially Broady for getting the results. I felt as a unit they bowled pretty well.”
Despite makeshift opener Stiaan van Zyl going through a dreadful run in the series averaging under 14, De Villiers did not think South Africa needed to call anyone new into the squad for the final Test at Centurion starting on Friday.
“It’s easy to say now [we need an opening batsman], I’d definitely agree with it now. But I thought Stiaan and Dean [Elgar] played exceptionally well on a wicket that was really tough with the new ball. Stiaan was unfortunate today, I thought Stiaan looked really good, it’s not always the runs that count. Once again it’s up to the selectors for the last Test match. It’s easy to say now, i was very happy with the squad we had for the last two Tests.
“The players we have are not really the issue, there’s still something to work with there. There were quite a few opportunities that we had throughout the match and one was in the first innings. We were getting a lot of partnerships going, a lot of guys got in. There was a great opportunity to get 400 plus and we didn’t take that. 400 plus on this wicket is very tough to play against. Unfortunately we missed that trick. We bowled pretty well in patches in the first innings but let it slip. The talent is there, it’s just a matter of finding consistency and applying pressure more often.”
ANA
(File photo)