“At the moment, where I am at this stage of my career, I want to make sure I’m in good nick to play Test cricket. It [Test cricket] still excites me, I love it, I prioritise it in my head and my heart.”
So said 33-year-old Jimmy Anderson in the build up to the Johannesburg Test. On the face of it, AB de Villiers, 32 next month, is at a similar stage of his career, but, speaking at his first press conference as South African Test captain, he was unable to commit his long-term future to Test cricket.
“There have been a few rumours floating around, and in most rumours there is always a little bit of truth,” de Villiers said. “It’s not just in the last while; it’s for two or three years I’ve been searching for the right answers, to play a little less cricket one way or another, to keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game.”
On the strength of the quotes above, there is the temptation to praise Anderson, while failing to find much sympathy for de Villiers. Bravo, Jimmy – the primacy of Test cricket is everything. Shame on you, AB – how can you be tired when South Africa only played 8 Tests in 2015? Maybe you could cut down on your IPL commitments, or turn down the chance to join the Caribbean Premier League. But that would be to miss the point. Even if Anderson was in demand from T20 franchises, he can afford – literally – to follow his head and his heart. A fat central contract from the ECB sees to that. De Villiers – and the vast majority of international cricketers, certainly those outside the Big Three of Australia, England and India – don’t have that luxury.
We already have the absurd situation where the cream of West Indian cricket can be playing in the Big Bash League in Australia while, in the same country at the same time, the West Indies are failing miserably to put up any kind of competition in the Test series. Who’s to say the same fate won’t befall South Africa? And New Zealand. And Bangladesh and Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Hell, even England might not be immune.
De Villiers went on: “Obviously international cricket is the main cricket you want to play, especially Test cricket. It’s the main format and we all want to be part of that. There are huge traditions and culture in this format. I believe there are one or two areas where we can improve, and make sure that we keep the guys’ focus in the right place. Obviously there are big tournaments going on around the world. Some you can’t ignore because financially they make a huge difference in our lives, and obviously you’ve got to look after that side of it as well. International cricket is the main one you want to play, and one or two things will have to change in order for that to happen. My focus is on international cricket and I want to play for as long as possible. I’ve got dreams of winning World Cups and maintaining this No.1 status in Test cricket for as long as possible. Obviously I want to get my experience across to some of the youngsters. There are so many dreams I’d like to follow.”
That de Villiers feels he may not be able to follow those dreams says much about the state of the global game. Don’t hate the player; hate the game, as Ice T might say. When arguably the best player in the world – certainly the best multi-format player – is tempted to walk away from international cricket then we should all be listening. As we should have been when the likes of Dwayne Bravo did just that.
Yet it isn’t the job of the players to sort out a schedule where they aren’t flogged to death. Or fix the club versus country schism that threatens the future of international cricket. If it was, they wouldn’t be blamed for choosing the more money-less work option. De Villiers, after a decade of commitment to South Africa, can’t be blamed for wanting to spend more time with his family or for feeling that his unique talent is better remunerated in T20 cricket. He couldn’t be blamed for walking away. But he’s not. He’s sounding a warning to the powers that be, for which we should all be thankful. Of all the breathtaking shots that de Villiers has played, perhaps this warning shot is the most important.
“We can’t stand still as a game,” Alastair Cook was quoted as saying in the Guardian. “The people who run it have got to know the responsibility is on their shoulders to look after it and try to push it forward the best way they can.” They could start by tackling the huge inequalities in the global game that have only been exacerbated by the Big Three takeover.