Captain AB passes first test

AB de Villiers has come through his first series as captain pretty well. The initial fear that the workload of keeping, batting and captaining would be too big has been unfounded. I must admit I never had any concerns on that front. De Villiers is a rare talent with a strong personality. He also has a true passion for the Proteas and a real desire to succeed. The players support him and the fans love him. Like any captain he will have his tough times and make mistakes along the way but that is the nature of the beast.

There is little doubt that De Villiers will go on to lead South Africa in all versions of the game. When Graeme Smith decides to relinquish the captaincy or if the selectors decide to make a change, De Villiers is now the obvious successor. The only question is whether he will captain and keep wicket at test level as well.

There is also no question that when he keeps wicket the Proteas are a stronger team. This is no disrespect to Mark Boucher, but when De Villiers takes over the wicketkeeping duties, South Africa can fit in the extra player which balances the team pretty well in both the one-day and T20 arena.

There is a real reluctance to address the situation surrounding De Villiers donning the gloves in test cricket as well. This situation is easy to understand and is as a result of respect for long-serving South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher himself. In the cold light of day, if Boucher retires or if the selectors decide it's time for him to move aside, De Villiers is the obvious and only sensible choice for test cricket as well.

He gives the one-day team the correct balance when he keeps, and the same will apply to the test team. If De Villiers bats five and keeps in test cricket it creates the opportunity of another specialist player at No 7. MS Dhoni did a similar job for India successfully and De Villiers is every bit as talented as the legendary Indian captain.

The one factor that may prohibit this happening in the test arena is concern over De Villiers's suspect back. In years gone by, test teams were selected and the players had to fit in with whatever role they were given. It was considered such an honour to represent one’s country that just about any player would have done so in any given position.

Things are a bit different now. Players dictate more to selectors as to the role they want to play in a team. I don’t believe this applies to AB de Villiers. I would imagine in his case if the selectors told him that he should bat, keep and captain in all versions of the game because that makes the Proteas stronger and gives them a better chance of being No 1 in the world, he will jump at the chance.

It is worth a try. Maybe not now, but surely in time to come. Let’s hope someone is strong enough to put that to the test.