Former South Africa skipper, AB de Villiers during his growing up days, Jonty Rhodes was his idol and the latter’s 1992 World Cup run-out of Inzamam-ul-Haq inspired him to give his 100 percent on the field. De Villiers also said that he practiced the iconic run out every day when growing up and braved injuries to master it. ABD also acknowledged that he always wished to pull off a similar run out in his international career.
De Villiers, speaking to BBC London’s Kevin Hand for Middlesex Cricket, said, “Jonty Rhodes was the standout. Once again, from a young age, he had the biggest impact. When I was 8 years old, I saw the run out live in the World Cup 1992. That had a huge impact on me.”
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He further added, “I practiced that run out every day of my life. I had grass all over, blood but I had to practice that run out. I never had the opportunity to do that run out in my career. But it still inspired me so much to do special things on the field, to take catches for the team. That’s the way Jonty played. That’s the way I always wanted to play.”
While his 360-degree batting skills have always been difficult for bowlers to negotiate, AB de Villiers did some stunning things on the field, be it taking one-handed stunners or pulling off miraculous run-outs. He also went on to reveal his first meeting with his idol Rhodes but later the two cricketers became good friends.
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De Villiers explained, “It was a huge dream-come-true for me to just meet him. And then a year or two later, he was the fielding coach in the Proteas side. It was a bit of a blur, because it was a dream-come-true to have him around. We played tennis on cricket tours. We still stay in touch. He travels the world. He is that kind of a guy. He loves life. He just gets on his motorbike and rides for hours. He is a bit of a go-getter. He is still the same.”
Rhodes heaped rich praise on his compatriot when he recently said de Villiers is the best fielder to have played the sport.
