AB DeVilliers, Faf DuPlessis: Corridors of mischief to hall of fame
JOHANNESBURG: As you make your way from Pretoria’s Gautrain Station to Afrikaanse Hoer Seunskool past the Loftus Versveld Rugby Stadium, the first thing that strikes you is the rich history of the school. The number 1920 is impossible to miss – the year when it into existence. The corridors leading up to the main square is adorned with pictures of its various teams – cricket, rugby, swimming, hockey, athletics. In one of those photos framed with a dateline of 2002 are two players, almost in their teens. They are Abraham Benjamin de Villiers and Francois du Plessis with closely cropped hair.
“These two were so popular that the seniors didn’t really like their popularity. They had their heads shaven… it is a notorious boarding establishment,” says Deon Botes, the head of sports at the school. Botes doesn’t mention his tryst with cricket. Only while bidding adieu does it become known he that he is part of Cricket South Africa’s junior selection panel, which has picked the side that is in New Zealand for the ICC U-19 World Cup. But having spent around an hour in his cabin in the school which has pictures of De Villiers, Du Plessis, Jacques Rudolph, Neil Wagner (New Zealand pacer), you will get a glimpse of his ability to nurture talent.
Botes, in his previous capacity as cricket coach of the school, has seen De Villiers and Du Plessis as teammates, classmates, housemates and partners in crime in the six years they spent in school. It is these six years that established a partnership that still is unbroken between De Villiers and Du Plessis.
Like other kids their age, they too were mischievous.
“When you do funny things, you need to have a leader and that was Du Plessis,” says Botes, taking us to the classroom where the South Africa captain used to sit with his legs on top of the table with socks while taking notes. “He was very sloppy. Never had anything in order. But now he has tattoos and wants to look good because of endorsements. He even showed me a Protea jacket that he designed,” Botes says. While Du Plessis used to be the forefront of pranks, AB was the opposite, thanks to the family – mom and dad doctors – that brought with him some discipline. Of the two, one was even suspended for disciplinary reasons. “Faf somehow escaped because he had this ability to pull himself out of any situation. But AB, being part of the school radio, flirted with girls on air and a parent picked it up. So he had to be expelled from the boarding for a couple of months,” Botes reveals.
The cricket and rugby fields are where the legend of AB and Faf grew. They won matches together, played every sport – AB in particular. “We emphasise on kids learning different sports because it helps when they specialise. Faf and AB both played rugby (Faf couldn’t make it past the third team) and that is why they move so freely. If they only played cricket, they would be chubby,” Botes says. But cricket was always their first love. So much that they used to practice slip catching just behind the big glass windows, meaning if they dropped any, it would break not only the glass, it would also leave a big hole in their pockets. “They said it is the best way to learn how not to drop catches. They just couldn’t stand still and were always up to something.”
One of the boards in the club house has the names of those who have captained the school. The notable omission is De Villiers. And even before you ask, Botes is ready. “AB was not a leader. He liked taking responsibilities, but never a leader. It is an inborn facet. You can differentiate early.” So was Faf a natural leader? “In the final year, in one of the matches, having set around 230 to win, we had the opposition at 130 for two in 25 overs. Faf brought in a spinner, made the batsmen play a couple of drives to long-on and with each ball kept moving up the fielders inside the ring. He induced five run outs. That’s what makes him a good captain.”
There is more. “We lost that match and while I was waiting to implode, Faf pulled me aside and said, ‘Sir, that’s the best 25 overs we have played. So don’t tell us off, it would be a shame.’ For me that is the making of a leader.”
While De Villiers’ graph kept ascending, Du Plessis had to work hard in the domestic circuit. “AB was a natural. He could walk in and play shots. But Faf played the situation. He is no different from other cricketers. AB was a rarity. He didn’t have a strong defence, but now he does.” In the last couple of years, word had spread that the two are not getting along well because of the captaincy tussle. Things are settling down now, with Du Plessis in the hot seat following De Villiers’s decision to step down. “I asked them the same.
They asked me back ‘Are you stupid? We are friends, of course, silly.’ Nothing has changed between them. They are still happy for each other and AB knows Faf is a good cap. He is very good with players off the field. Having grown up in a boarding environment, there is a strong brotherhood and you can see that when somebody takes a wicket, it is invariably one of these two celebrating first. Faf knows how to bring everyone together. It is what they learnt here and that is what I’m most happy about.”
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com