Happy Birthday Mr 360: Fans wish AB de Villiers as he turns 37 today

A cricketer with overflowing talent and the temperament to back it up. A fielder able to leap tall buildings and still come up with the catch – and who will happily move behind the stumps into the wicketkeeper’s spot if needed. ‘Happy Birthday AB de Villiers.’

South Africa Cricket Veteran AB de Villiers is celebrating his 37^th Birthday today. Fans are sending him wishes on Twitter and other social media platforms.

He is clearly one of the most complete players in the world, especially if considering his records in white-ball cricket.

AB de Villiers has risen through the ranks to become one of the world’s finest batsmen, most versatile batsmen, across all formats.

When on song, de Villiers has the ability to take any bowling attack apart with his wide array of strokes on either side of the wicket.

His supreme ability caught the eye of the selectors as he was fast-tracked into the national squad as a raw 20-year-old in 2004.

He made his Test debut in the home series against England in 2004 and exhibited his class with a sublime 52 in just his fourth innings with the bat, saving South Africa from what looked like a certain defeat.

He also registered his first Test century in the series – a fluent 109 on his home ground in Centurion. In short, he’d wasted no time and had shown the world his capability immediately.

Having played both as an opener and as a lower-order wicketkeeper/batsman in his first Test series, he soon proved his worth by amassing 460 runs in his first away tour to the Caribbean Islands in 2005.

A slump in form ensued – de Villiers battled for runs against Australia both at home and away – he had to wait until the home series against West Indies in 2007-08 to again reach the three-figure mark.