AB de Villiers

Verdict

There's not much respite in a modern cricket tour

England's batsmen held out for the draw - and a 2-1 series win - at SuperSport Park in Centurion, after South Africa left it too late to go for victory

South Africa's captain, Graeme Smith, was gracious in defeat as he reflected on the events of the final day at Centurion

A late burst from Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, in which five wickets tumbled for 45 runs, transformed England's day when play finally got under way at SuperSport Park

AB de Villiers quotes

As game-plans go, it was simple enough

AB de Villiers is just 20 years old and has played three Tests so far in his career

Darkness drove the players from the field just before 4.30pm at Durban - around half-an-hour before the scheduled close - handing South Africa a lifeline after England had seemed certain to wrap up the match, and with it a 2-0 lead

The Wisden Verdict

There was an eerie sense of calm surrounding Port Elizabeth on the eve of the first Test at St George's Park

"The great, green, greasy Limpopo river ..." Celebrated in Rudyard Kipling's Just So stories as the place where the elephant got its trunk, and situated on the Zimbabwean border, it is not the most likely of places to spawn a Test cricketer -

Two uncapped players, AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn, have been included in South Africa's 13-man squad for the first Test against England

There were victories for Titans and Warriors in the latest round of matches in the Standard Bank Cup

South Africa A were on the verge of a convincing win against Zimbabwe A at Bulawayo

A big crowd of nearly 8000 at the Wanderers watched as Gauteng overhauled Northerns' total with two balls to spare, to set up a home final next week against Easterns