AB confirmed as Test captain

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CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA’S (CSA) Board of Directors, at its meeting today, confirmed AB de Villiers as the Castle Lager Proteas Test Captain following a recommendation received from the National Selectors.

De Villiers has accepted the offer to lead the Proteas on a permanent basis after serving as the stand-in captain for the last two Sunfoil Tests against England. His first assignment in charge will be against New Zealand in August in South Africa.

“AB is a class cricketer and a special person and the Board is delighted that he has taken on the responsibility to lead the Proteas Test team during this crucial phase of guiding new players and rebuilding the team to once again be the best in the world,” said CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat.

“AB’s commitment to the Proteas and international cricket is a lesson for many other cricketers and the Board was unanimous in appointing AB to take charge of the team.

“Having known AB since he started his international career, I am confident that he will lead by example and display the brilliance and passion that he is so blessed with,” added Lorgat.

“I would also like to thank Hashim Amla for the manner in which he led the Proteas during a very tough transitional period.”

De Villiers expressed his delight at being appointed the Proteas Test captain.

“This is an exciting time for South African cricket, and I am honoured to have been asked to captain the Test team into a new era. I thoroughly enjoyed captaining in the last two Tests against England, and although I still have a lot to learn in this role, it's a new challenge that I'm excited to take on,” De Villiers said.

"I have been privileged to play in several outstanding Proteas teams over the past 11 seasons, and I believe we are witnessing the emergence of another great team. There is plenty of hard work ahead of us; we are rebuilding and have a long way to go to being a finished product as a squad.”

“We may have to fight through some tough times, but the recent performances of Kagiso Rabada, Temba Bavuma, Dane Piedt, Dean Elgar and others have created an opportunity to build a team that delights and unites our country as never before. I could not be more excited about the future. I am fully committed to the Proteas, but more than anything, I am grateful for the support from my team mates, Cricket South Africa and the people of our rainbow nation," he explained.

The Board also confirmed the national contracted players for the next year, with certain players being awarded two-year contracts.

The contracted players are:

Bavuma, Behardien and Rossouw have all been awarded national contracts for the first time. They were previously all on High Performance contracts.

The Board noted the special payment of R26.5-Million that was awarded to the Affiliates and Associates following good financial returns arising from the new operating model that was implemented over the past two years

The Board and Members Council supported the Chief Executive's request to undertake a comprehensive review of the domestic RAM SLAM T20 Competition with a view to expanding its cricket and commercial values.

Corruption matter

The Board received an update on the corruption matter and noted that the matter had been reported last year by CSA to the relevant crime unit of the South African Police Services who will now deal with any criminal aspects of the investigation.

“The Board is satisfied with the progress that has been made so far and with the lengthy ban that was imposed on Mr Bodi,” commented Board Chairman, Mr. Chris Nenzani. “We will strongly uphold our stance of zero tolerance on any corruption matter. The internal investigation under the CSA Anti-Corruption Code continues and we are confident that our experienced investigative team will leave no stone unturned," Nenzani concluded.