De Villiers shared his thoughts while interacting with the media during the SA20 season three match between Joburg Super Kings and MI Cape Town. The former South African cricketer is currently involved in the tournament as a commentator and brand ambassador.
Speaking to the media, De Villiers said that despite reaching the ICC T20 World Cup final and the WTC final, South Africa has faced unfair criticism within the cricket community. This criticism followed the retirement of several senior players and an overhaul of the coaching setup, with Shukri Conrad taking over as Test coach and Rob Walter as white-ball coach. “There are a lot of new things and yet they qualified for the T20 World Cup final and the WTC final.
It's really incredible and I think they deserve a lot of credit for achieving this. It will take some time to get back to the stability we had between 2008 and 2015, when we were consistently around one of the top teams in the world. And they will get there. It takes time. All teams have to go through those stages to find experienced players again. To find the right mix of players,” he said. Reminiscing about his early career, de Villiers noted that in the mid-to-late 2000s, South Africa struggled with consistency. “And then in 2008, we Started clicking. But we had to go through those tough times first.” On the upcoming WTC final, de Villiers said, “There is no doubt that Australia is the favourite.
The Proteas have performed exceptionally well, showing that they are playing a positive brand of cricket and striving for results. I like that about them. Credit must be given to the players and the coaching staff for their approach.” De Villiers also praised South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, saying, “He has taken a lot of criticism over the years. And where are they now? Taking the team to the WTC final. Even more than incredible cricket playing countries like India, New Zealand and England. This is a big achievement. But yes, they are not the favorites because they are still very inexperienced. He has not traveled to places like England recently. They haven't been to Australia.”
De Villiers pointed to the tough challenge posed by Australia, known for its deep batting lineup and dangerous pace trio — Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc — on the swinging UK pitches. He said, “I will never underestimate my team. They are a group of fighters. And Temba mentioned this in the press conference. He said, I will take this team to battle because I know they are a -Going to fight for others.
So that's all you want. If you have this attitude, you can achieve anything. And I will support the players to go all out to win this WTC final.” De Villiers said that to achieve success in the Test, the Proteas will need to support the 13-15 players who are currently set- Up and let them gain their consistency over time. “That's what I had when I grew up,” he said. Graeme Smith supported me in the Proteas team. I wasn't always consistent the first few years. And he stayed with me. And then ultimately, the team reaped the rewards from me being more persistent. There are many other such examples.
Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn. The list is long. Those players could have easily been dropped because they were inconsistent initially, but they (the management) remained with the team. He was confident in what he had. And I think the Proteas need to do the same now. They have a very special group of players. Keep up with the players. It's going to be inconsistent at times. But just stick with them,” he said. The Proteas' journey to the WTC final has been a fairy tale.
They started the 2023-25 WTC cycle on a shaky note with a 1-1 draw against India at home. The second-tier team, led by Neil Brand, then toured New Zealand during SA20 season two for a two-Test series and lost 2–0. This series, and SA's move to send a second-rate, largely inexperienced team, raised questions about their commitment to the Tests. However, with the return of key players, South Africa achieved series wins against West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, winning seven consecutive Tests and qualifying for the WTC final. Apart from veterans like Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram and captain Temba Bavuma, young talents like Ryan Rickelton, Marco Jensen, Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch and David Bedingham have performed exceptionally.
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