AB de Villiers: South African would ‘love to be a part’ of new 100-ball competition

AB de Villiers

(BBC) Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers says he would “love to be a part” of the new 100-ball competition being introduced in England in 2020.

The 34-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman retired from international cricket in May after a 14-year career in all three formats.

The new format, consisting of 100 balls per side, was proposed in April and confirmed in November.

“I can’t see anything wrong with trying something different,” said De Villiers.

Speaking to BBC World Service’s Stumped, he added: “I’m not set in my schedule at the moment but I would love to play in the UK.

“I’m sure with the tradition and the culture of cricket over there, it would be very well supported. I would love to be a part of it.”

A number of England players have backed the concept of the new competition, but the Professional Cricketers’ Association has expressed concern.

Trial matches were held in September at Trent Bridge between a North and South side.

“There’s nothing wrong with experimenting with the format,” said De Villiers.

“It’s not a huge change, but it’s something different. It’s nice to experiment, and in a year or two we’ll see what happens.”

‘Right time to return to Pakistan’

De Villiers has agreed to play two Pakistan Super League matches in Lahore on 9 and 10 March.

There has been little international cricket played in Pakistan since an attack on the Sri Lanka team in 2009, although West Indies toured there in April.

De Villiers, arguably the highest profile cricketer to agree to play in the country, said: “I felt that I had this opportunity to maybe make an impact to help international cricket return to Pakistan.

“I was reluctant to go a few years back, when we were all a bit worried, but I feel the time is right to go back there.

“I’m hoping to go there and have some fun and show the whole world that Pakistan is safe to travel to again.”

De Villiers holds the record for the fastest one-day century, reaching three figures in just 31 balls against West Indies in January 2015.

Asked about the upcoming World Cup, which begins in May, he said: “I feel I’ve made the right decision to retire. “If they do approach me – and I don’t think that will happen – we’ll have a conversation and I’m pretty sure that I will be staying over here and supporting the team.”