De Villiers withdraws from England Test series
AB de Villiers has ruled himself out of South Africa's four-Test series in England in July-August.
JOHANNESBURG (Agencies) - AB de Villiers still has many goals he wants to achieve in Test cricket but none of those will be realised on the fields around England this winter.
After saying Tuesday that we had withdrawn from the three-match Test series in New Zealand which will be played in March, De Villiers confirmed Wednesday that he won’t play in the four Tests against England in July and August this year.
Cricket South Africa had hoped that De Villiers would avail himself for that series, but De Villiers said at SuperSport Park that he simply wasn’t ready. He also doesn’t want to play the two Tests against Bangladesh in September.
“It was not an easy decision,” De Villiers said about withdrawing from the England Test series. “I’m just not ready. My priorities have changed over the years, I’ve played for 12-odd years, family has changed, my roles in the teams have changed over the years. A lot of things played a role in this decision. I wouldn’t like to think it’s the end, I still want to make that come-back, finish on a high and somehow have a say in us getting back that no.1 ranking which we deserve, given the way we’ve played in the last few months.”
De Villiers has targeted the series against India next summer - the dates for which have not yet been confirmed - for a return to Test cricket. He stressed though it would only be after a spell of four-day domestic cricket for his franchise, the Titans.
