Proteas
AB new One Day captain
2011-06-06 16:46
Email | Print
Johannesburg - AB de Villiers is the Proteas' new One Day International (ODI) and T20 captain and Hashim Amla the vice captain, Cricket South Africa's chief executive Gerald Majola said in Johannesburg on Monday.
Wicketkeeper and batsman, De Villiers, 27, takes over the reins from Graeme Smith, who had previously stated he would step down as captain of the ODI side immediately after the World Cup. Smith remains captain of the Test team.
De Villiers, from Pretoria, made his ODI debut against England in February 2005. He has since played 119 matches, averaging 45.68 runs, with 11 centuries under his belt.
He has kept wicket in 29 matches but is yet to captain the side.
As an established and respected team member, De Villiers has the advantage of being a certain selection in all versions of the game, and is young enough to be around for many years to come.
South Africa take on Australia and Sri Lanka, at home, later in the year, giving the new coaching unit and the ODI captain plenty of time to acclimatise.
The international season starts on October 13 when the Proteas face the Aussies at Newlands, Cape Town, in the first of two Twenty/20 matches, followed by the first ODI of the tour at Centurion on October 19.