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The Rediff Interview / Fanie de Villiers

"It hurts when you know you are good enough, but you don't make the side. So I quit!"

Tell us about the Sydney Test, the 1993-'94 series, your second Test wasn't it? You got in only because Brett Schultz was injured, and ended up with a ten-for that blew Australia away. What are your recollections of that game?

My biggest memory is that everyone wrote us off. I knew that if we could get a few early wickets in that second innings, we had a chance. It just so happened that I was the one who got ten wickets in that game. Frankly, it helped us a lot that we won the toss in that game, because on that pitch, batting on the last two days was never going to be easy. It was just one of those days, everything went my way. Cricket is like that, when things are going for you, you have to cash in. The dreaded 'Nelson' also played a role -- we bowled them out for 111 runs, just six short of the winning total.

What, in retrospect, is your assessment South Africa's first World Cup campaign, in 1992?

South African team

I think overall, we did much better than people expected us to. I must admit that in the early days, in 1992, we were playing mostly on guts and adrenalin -- so overall, we did a very good job. I think the biggest memory of that tournament was the silly bye-law that had us chasing 22 runs off one ball in our semifinal against England. At one point we needed 22 runs off 13. Then it rained, and when play was resumed, we were given one ball to get 22!

We obviously felt cheated out of the tournament, and South Africa went on to play a major role in changing the rules for rain-effected games. It was one of those things -- you hated it, but what could you do about it?

The 1996 World Cup campaign gave the South Africans the reputation of chokers -- being brilliant in the preliminary phase, then mucking it up at the knockout stage. Was that a fair assessment, do you think?

It's an interesting reputation to have, actually, it depends how you think about it. We lost in the knockout stage of that World Cup, we also lost a few finals, so we got that reputation. But another way to look at it is, our team was playing in so many finals, more than any other teams. And the more you play, the more you are bound to lose. So saying we lost a lot of finals is one way of putting it, saying we got into more finals than other sides is another way of looking at it.

During the 1996 tour of India, your duels with Sachin Tendulkar were a highlight. More than once, you did him with the slower ball, inducing the uppish drive to short midwicket. Tell us of those battles and of bowling to Sachin -- how do you evaluate his strengths, his weaknesses?

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin has always been the most innovative player on the international circuit. He is the kind of batsman who takes bowlers on, especially in one day cricket. I used to try and frustrate him, as a means of getting him out. In that tournament, I used to try and bowl him two or three dot balls, then bowl him the teaser, the slower ball. He kept trying to take me on and paid with his wicket. But towards the end, he began reading that slower ball well, I am sure I wouldn't have been able to do it much longer, he is so very innovative.

On that Indian tour, you somehow didn't seem to enjoy the confidence of your captain -- you were in and out of the side all the time, and were in fact told that your bowling was not good enough for Tests...

Yes, you are right, I'm still trying to work out why that happened, frankly. I know that the captain wanted pace but on your kind of wickets, as far as I am concerned, there is no substitute for swing bowling, especially out-swingers -- and that was the main weapon in my armoury. So I couldn't figure out why I wasn't playing -- I still can't for that matter.

Your last Test match, against Pakistan at Port Elizabeth in 1997-98, was memorable, you won the game for your side with a superlative performance. In retrospect, do you think you jumped the gun, retired when there was still a lot of good cricket left in you? Why did you choose to quit the game when you did?

South African cricket is very complex, at this point -- it is not simply a matter of getting runs and taking wickets. Before that last Test in Pakistan, I learnt I would not be going to Australia, because they had selected Makhaya Ntini. It hurts when you know you are good enough, but you don't make the side. So I quit. I also had my family to think of -- I have a deaf little girl, and she needed her dad at home.

You've played under both Kepler Wessels and Hansie Cronje, how do you evaluate their captaincy styles?

Hansie Cronje

Kepler was much needed after our days of isolation. He knew Test cricket, having played so much in Australia, he also was familar with different venues around the world, so he could bring us the knowhow we lacked at that point. He was the kind of captain we needed at the time, he knew the game inside out. He was a very reserved type, highly respected by the players.

Hansie was obviously schooled under Kepler, understood his ways and learnt from them, but he is definitely different, more effective when it comes to motivating his players, I think that is his biggest strength.

What was it like, bowling alongside Allan Donald at his very fastest? What is like having a superstar as your bowling partner? How does his bowling complement yours, how does it help to have someone like that bowling at the other end?

Allan Donald

It is always good bowling along somebody with real pace. Most of the time, batsmen get out at your end because they try and play more shots against you, since they can't cut loose against your quicker partner. That is probably why I got more wickets than him in the eighteen Tests we played together.

The 'rainbow team' theory, the recent mandate from the authorities that South Africa should include players of colour in its team -- these are the big issues of today. What are your views? Does it make sense to dictate a colour-based selection? Or should the best 11 players play, irrespective of other considerations?

Yes, the 'best 11 players' is the logical thing, but the situation in our country is very complex just now. It is sad, actually, that government officials are using cricket to score points, with a view to the upcoming elections. Fair or not, we are trying to build a nation, and that is involving a lot of aches and pains. Hopefully, all that heartburn will bear fruit in the near future.

While on the subject, what impact has South Africa's 20-year isolation had on the development of the game in the country?

In the one-day game, our isolation has played a fantastic role. Our whole domestic cricket, during our isolation, was based on one day cricket. At the same time, our play in the longer versions of the game was badly hurt, because we had no Test players to set standards for the rest of us to emulate. I must say, though, that to our credit we caught up pretty quickly.

How active are you in cricket these days, Fanie? Do you have, as you look back on your career at the top, any lingering regrets, any unfulfilled ambitions? Any 'I wish I had done that' on your list?

I don't play any more. I bowled my last ball in that Pakistan Test, my career ended when I got the last wicket of that match and sealed the win for our side. No, no regrets -- I played first class cricket for 11 years, I toured the world for six years, I shared a room with Pat Symcox for all that time, it was all enough for me. No regrets. In a way I am still involved in cricket, I work for MTN, which is a cellphone company and the main sponsor for cricket in South Africa, I work for them as ambassador of cricket, to develop cricket among the under-privileged communities. I am also a cricket commentator/presenter for our big satellite company, M-Net's sports channel Supersport. You must visit our website -- www.supersport.co.za

You have this reputation of being an inveterate traveller, going around the countries you are playing in. What are your memories of those travels? Any books in the offing?

Fanie giving autographs to  street kids in Bombay

Australia must the best country in the world to travel in, ask any cricketer. The sub-continent is the most varied and interesting, and England the most memorable. I have discussed my travels at length in my autobiography, which should be on the shelves by Christmas, so yes, there is definitely a book in the immediate offing.

Note: Fanie de Villiers is writing a regular column for Rediff's World Cup site. Check out the first instalment.

When the South African team was in Bombay, in 1996, during the Titan Cup ODI series, Fanie took time off to explore the city. Check out this exclusive photo feature -- Stump Vision -- from the Fanie de Villiers portfolio.