AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis share an uncommon starting point. Both came through Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria, known as Affies, and were shaped by the same Highveld cricket environment. Born only months apart in 1984, their careers moved in parallel before repeatedly intersecting at the highest level.
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AB, across 184 matches and 170 innings, scored 5162 runs at an average of 39.71 and a strike rate of 151.69. Three centuries, 40 fifties and 251 sixes capture a batter who treated angles as suggestions rather than boundaries. Once set, he altered the geometry of the field entirely.
Faf, in 154 matches and 147 innings, has 4773 runs at 35.10 and a strike rate of 135.79. He has 39 fifties and 439 fours. His T20 batting is defined by early engagement with bowlers, precise strike rotation, and the ability to keep innings moving through gaps rather than waiting for them. Pressure builds through continuity rather than bursts.
AB’s strike rate tells its own story. He did not manage tempo, he erased it. One over was often enough to flip a match state, turning control into collapse for the opposition.
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Faf operates in a different register. He reads conditions early, takes calculated options in the powerplay, and ensures the innings never stalls. The scoring method is grounded in placement, timing, and constant manipulation of field settings rather than dependence on boundary-heavy passages.
The contrast defines their roles as much as their numbers. AB is the disrupter, the player who breaks structure in a spell of invention. Faf is the stabiliser of rhythm, shaping phases and maintaining direction through sustained pressure on bowlers.
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AB’s 360 degree range remains the clearest image of his legacy. It expanded the limits of what T20 batting could look like when improvisation meets execution under pressure.
Faf’s value sits in control of flow. He keeps innings coherent, adapts quickly to match conditions, and ensures that intent never drifts into hesitation.
Both emerged from the same school, the same system, and the same generation. Yet they represent opposite answers to the same question: how should T20 batting dominate?
AB de Villiers changed the shape of possibility. Faf du Plessis ensured possibility stayed under control long enough to win matches.
Photo: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images
