New South African captain AB de Villiers said Wednesday he was fully committed to leading the team in the next two Tests against England, but confirmed there was "a bit of truth" in rumours he was considering retirement. De Villiers said that despite the proliferation of big-money Twenty20 tournaments, he still considered international cricket - and Tests in particular - to be the pinnacle of the game.
Speaking ahead of the third Test against England, starting at the Wanderers Stadium on Thursday, he said "one or two things" needed to change if that was to remain the main focus of players. Told of De Villiers' comments, England captain Alastair Cook insisted Test cricket needed to be protected. "It is the ultimate test of a cricketer, you really earn your stripes if you do well over a long period of time," he said. Cook said Twenty20 had become more popular than could have been predicted 10 or 15 years ago, adding: "We can't stand still as a game. The people who run it have to know their responsibility and push it forward the best way they can. "I don't think Test cricket is going to die but there are certainly elements of it that can be improved in terms of the structure of when you play." De Villiers, 31, admitted: "For two or three years I've been searching for the right answers to play a little less cricket in one way or another, to keep myself fresh and enjoying the game.
"Every now and then I find I am not enjoying myself as much as I should be. I've been talking to a few people and obviously that's leaked." It was the first time De Villiers has spoken directly to journalists since an article appeared in a local newspaper claiming he was thinking of quitting. "I'm still very committed to the job," he said. "The two Test matches now is all that I am focusing on. There's a nice big break of six months before we play Test cricket again. Lots of things can happen before then."
De Villiers acknowledged that Twenty20 tournaments around the world were tempting, saying: "There are big tournaments going on around the world and some of them you can't ignore because financially they make a huge difference in our lives. "I think it's a going concern for the ICC (International Cricket Council) to find the right sort of structure to keep all the guys fresh. International cricket is the main cricket you want to play, especially Test cricket."
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