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AB de Villiers
- Thread starter bahadurhussain
- Start date
Agreed. The guy is a freak. While we have the like of McCullum who slogs, de Villiers plays some very nice cricket shots and EFFORTLESSLY hits the ball for 6.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Hardly.
Anyone who's international class at any sport that requires some form of athletic prowess would probably be able to play most other sports to a reasonably high level at age group level. It would be a rare sportsman who was massively talented at one particular sport and a complete hack at everything else he tried out.
Pratters
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
Couldn't disagree more. In earlier times, when sport was less competitive, making national teams at 2-3 sports was understandable. People have done it with various degrees of success. In the modern world, with the competition being what it is, it would be quite difficult for a cricket player to make the rugby, hockey, golf and sprint teams also except if you are some one who is truly special.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
How about you actually read what I said.
At schoolboy level, I would expect someone who was exceptionally talented at one sport to be very talented at pretty much any sport they wanted to try their hands at. See Brendon McCullum and rugby for example.
Pratters
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
The thing is, Furball, it was you who disagreed that AB's achievements in other sports was incredible. It isn't. AB made it not in under 14s and stuff but at higher levels and it is quite amazing.
irfan
State Captain
I believe it was for rewriting Newton's 2nd Law - Acceleration = Boundaries/WI Balls Remaining
smash84
The Tiger King
Well, they do have 2 balls at best assuming they are normal so that doesn't give too many shots at a nobel prize
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Ok, I'll play along. What other sports does he have full representative honours at?
Pratters
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
Lot of honours, many of which are under 18 levels which is not an easy level as say under 14s I would think:
- He holds six South African school swimming records.
- He holds the record in the 100m dash in South Africa's junior athletics.
- He was a member of South Africa's junior Davis Cup tennis team. Top 2 ranked player.
- He was South Africa's U-19 national badminton champion.
- Has a golf handicap of scratch or zero, which means he is a player whose average score for a round of golf is par or better.
- Most incredibly, in my mind, made a rugby team (Blue Bulls Under 18 side) which had many players who went on to represent SA at rugby.
- He holds six South African school swimming records.
- He holds the record in the 100m dash in South Africa's junior athletics.
- He was a member of South Africa's junior Davis Cup tennis team. Top 2 ranked player.
- He was South Africa's U-19 national badminton champion.
- Has a golf handicap of scratch or zero, which means he is a player whose average score for a round of golf is par or better.
- Most incredibly, in my mind, made a rugby team (Blue Bulls Under 18 side) which had many players who went on to represent SA at rugby.
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Pratters
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
Again, not argued by me that he did, tbh.
Me: AB has done amazing things in various sports at national level, so it's awesome.
Furball: But it's age groups, so not so.
Me: But it is higher levels in age groups, not 14s and stuff.
Furball: But it's not full representative.
Me: But it is higher levels in age groups, which I believe is awesome/incredible.
Me: AB has done amazing things in various sports at national level, so it's awesome.
Furball: But it's age groups, so not so.
Me: But it is higher levels in age groups, not 14s and stuff.
Furball: But it's not full representative.
Me: But it is higher levels in age groups, which I believe is awesome/incredible.
It really isn't that anomalous. It seems like every U/19 cricketer representing Australia these days is also a gun AFL player who could nominate for the draft if they felt like it. Or go back to the days of Miller, Lindwall and Denis Compton, who were playing VFL for St. Kilda, Rugby League for St. George and football for Arsenal respectively during their cricketing careers. In more modern times, Jonty Rhodes was selected in South Africa's 1992 Olympics hockey squad.
ABdV's school records are certainly gun achievements on paper, but let's not pretend that he's an elite level athlete in literally everything -- he's never represented South Africa in hockey, certainly hasn't played Super 15 Rugby, played world tennis events or teed off in a PGA tournament. Sure, he may very well be able to do all those things if he wanted to, given the obvious skills he has, but he'd almost certainly be specialising at those instead of cricket.
Most of it does come down to what Furball says -- if you're a ****ing gun at one sport when you're 15, the spillover effects from it (discipline, fitness, motor skills etc.) are going to make you pretty bloody good at most others too. Even if you don't have the technical skills, you can bs your way past most other 15-year-olds anyway.
ABdV's school records are certainly gun achievements on paper, but let's not pretend that he's an elite level athlete in literally everything -- he's never represented South Africa in hockey, certainly hasn't played Super 15 Rugby, played world tennis events or teed off in a PGA tournament. Sure, he may very well be able to do all those things if he wanted to, given the obvious skills he has, but he'd almost certainly be specialising at those instead of cricket.
Most of it does come down to what Furball says -- if you're a ****ing gun at one sport when you're 15, the spillover effects from it (discipline, fitness, motor skills etc.) are going to make you pretty bloody good at most others too. Even if you don't have the technical skills, you can bs your way past most other 15-year-olds anyway.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
All comes down to sporting culture at school. de Villiers attended a school where competition across multiple sports was encouraged. You'll find plenty of US athletes who as well as excelling at their chosen sports, also played various other sports to a pretty high level in high school. I guarantee that most running backs in American Football would also have been high class sprinters.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Citation needed
hendrix
Hall of Fame Member
Nah the rugby one is not particularly impressive. I've played in several teams with players who went on to play for the All Blacks.
The 100m dash and swimming records is very impressive though.
Pratters
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
This is a very interesting topic. While people have achieved amazing success in multiple sports in earlier decades, doing so in the current era is superb if the level is even a few notches below international say as the current era is far more professional and competitive.
I remember hearing a story in the 90s that Tendulkar played against a national level table tennis player and defeated him. The table tennis players from India aren't very good really though.
If you play cricket and make a under 18 Jamaica Sprint team, say, it would be great, not as much if you made the under 15 Indian football team.
I do agree with furball that sporting culture plays a large part in it as well.
I remember hearing a story in the 90s that Tendulkar played against a national level table tennis player and defeated him. The table tennis players from India aren't very good really though.
If you play cricket and make a under 18 Jamaica Sprint team, say, it would be great, not as much if you made the under 15 Indian football team.
I do agree with furball that sporting culture plays a large part in it as well.
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