PE ton a reminder of AB's brilliance

Proteas superstar AB de Villiers put on a batting masterclass in Port Elizabeth, an unbeaten knock of 126 that stands as the difference between the two sides after three intense days of Test cricket.

De Villiers scored his 22nd Test century, his first in three years, to power the Proteas to a commanding 139-run lead and pole position to level the four-match series at one-all with two Tests to play.

It had been three years since the champion batsman had reached three figures in the longest form of the game and the veteran of 112 Tests admitted nerves were getting the better of him as he approached his century.

"It was 10/10. It was right up there with the best feeling ever," de Villiers said after play when asked to describe his emotions when he reached the milestone. 

"I was so relieved, I was very nervous in the 90s – I don't think it showed but I was telling Vern (batting partner Philander) out there that I was struggling to breathe and my legs literally went numb. It's funny when a guy who has played for 13 or 14 years says that, but it's true.

"It really meant a lot to me to get that 100. 

"I was constantly reminding myself throughout the 90s that it's not about yourself. 

"It's about contributing to the team as much as possible, that made me feel a little bit better because the minute you focus too much on individual performance, you sort of forget about the team."

What made this century more special was for the best part of two years from January 2016 to December 2017, de Villiers was lost to Test cricket. 

Injury, fatigue, family all played their parts in the 34-year-old stepping away from the five-day game to refresh his mind and set new goals about what he wanted to achieve in the twilight of his spectacular international career. 

But de Villiers says throughout his Test hiatus he never lost the love of the game and Test cricket, the format of the sport he considers the most difficult and most rewarding.

"I was just tired of playing," he said. 

"I was just flat, physically, mentally and quite a few other factors. 

"I became a day at the same time. Already there's two boys around and I've got a family. 

"A lot of things were happening then I was taking the pressure with the cricket, so there was just a lot that was going on in my life and I felt like I needed to breathe a little bit. 

"I wouldn't say I lost the love for the game, I think that showed today. I just love playing."

De Villiers showed the Australians just how much he adored playing as he tormented the tourists for 261 minutes, 146 balls, struck 20 fours and hit one jaw-dropping six off Pat Cummins.

Former Proteas captain Graeme Smith says the way de Villiers transfers pressure back on the bowlers is what separates him from the best batters in the world.

But the man himself says it is his opponents that have him extra motivated to be succeed, which has showed in a series so far that has seen no Australian bowler claim his wicket. 

"I'm honestly always fired up when I play against Australia," he said having scored his sixth Test century against Australia, the most by any South African player. 

"I've said it before, growing up it's always the team we wanted to beat as South Africans. 

"So from a very young age, five or six, it was always South Africa-Australia, that's the main game. 

"I'm always very motivated playing against these guys.

"I think the events in the first Test were uncalled for and unnecessary but I won't say that fired us up, but going one-nil down there and felt like we were embarrassed in a way on our home soil. 

"So we felt like it was time for us to really get up for it and turn it around."

As for how the Australians will go about getting de Villiers out, assistant coach David Saker has belief the strategies that have been formulated can still work in the remainder of the series. 

"He's a very good player, one of the best in the world if not the best in the world," Saker said on Sunday. 

"I don't think we've started bowling well to him when he's first got in. 

"I think after that he's a hard person to bowl to, once he gets in. 

"That wicket out there you should be able to contain them at the start of their innings but we couldn't do that for one reason or another, one being that he's such a good player, but we've talked a lot about how we should bowl to him, we probably haven't executed as well to him as we have with the others. 

"I'm still confident we can have some success for the rest of the series against him but he's a serious player and that was one pretty special innings. 

"He played on what seemed a different wicket to everybody else and hats off to him, but we still think we've got plans we can get him out with, we just haven't started that well against him."

Qantas tour of South Africa

South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada.

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.

Warm-up match: Australia beat South Africa A by five wickets. Report, highlights

First Test Australia won by 118 runs. Scorecard

Second Test St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, March 9-13. Live coverage

Third Test Newlands, Cape Town, March 22-26. Live coverage

Fourth Test Wanderers, Johannesburg, March 30-April 3. Live coverage