AB’s absence is, strangely, instrumental in Proteas’ heroics

Johannesburg - The New Zealand commentator battled to find words delicate enough to say it a few days ago, so he ended up with something along the lines of, this South African cricket team was not the most heavyweight to visit his country.

In all earnestness, he had a point. The last Proteas side to tour there, in 2012, included Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, men who, at the very least, will go down as greats in this country’s history.

Yet the current team stands on the threshold of at least matching their predecessors’ feat of that trip by winning series across all formats if they win or draw the third and final Test, which began in the early hours of Saturday morning.