Legends Month: The best of AB de Villiers

If a lesson is to be taken from the reasonably inauspicious beginnings of Adam Gilchrist's international career, it's that wicketkeepers don't always necessarily make good outfielders.

When national selectors decided in 1997 that Gilchrist's domestic returns with the bat simply had to be rewarded with higher honours, despite the presence in the side of veteran gloveman Ian Healy, the younger man was thrown into first slip in a one-day series in South Africa, alongside the man he would eventually replace as wicketkeeper.

It took less than 12 overs for that decision to come under serious scrutiny as the gloveless Gilchrist spilled two simple chances in a match that – to his relief – Australia would eventually win by 15 runs.

Another easy drop followed in the next game, a misdemeanour offset by a run-out he secured thanks to a brilliant – if somewhat surprising – direct hit from mid-on.

But while Gilchrist was a much safer proposition in the field with his keeping gloves on, it's never seemed to matter for South African sensation AB de Villiers.

With the gloves or without them, de Villiers has long been regarded as one of the best fielders the game has seen.

But one of his greatest acts in the field, one of the most freakish bits of athleticism seen in the modern game, has been somewhat forgotten over time, save for a few grainy clips available online.

It came during a nondescript ODI against Australia in Port Elizabeth in 2006, the fourth match of a tour best remembered for the famous 434 game a week later and the three-match Test series that followed the white-ball contests.

With Australia cruising at 1-99, opener Simon Katich bunted a ball from medium-pacer Andrew Hall into the gap on the off-side and, as de Villiers moved to his (non-dominant) left side, the Australian figured an easy single was on offer.

What Katich didn't count on was the 22-year-old international rookie, still known as much for his glovework as his feats in the infield, moving swiftly and trapping the ball with both hands as he dived to the turf.

As de Villiers held out his left arm to brace his fall, he flung back his right hand – with the ball nestled inside – and then quickly swung it across his body again vaguely in the direction of the stumps, despite his momentum leaving him flat on his back with his legs vertically in the air at the time he released the ball.

An act of body contortion that meant de Villiers didn't even see the ball at the moment it miraculously clattered into the one stump visible to him at the non-striker's end; as he completed an untidy somersault, the fielder's face was staring directly at the St George's Park turf when the woodwork was disturbed.

Katich, who was so short of his ground he wasn't even in the side-on camera shot when the stumps were broken, had little choice but to leave the field in a state of bewilderment.

A feeling de Villiers would inflict on many an opponent during his remarkable career.