"There are a lot of rumours flying around I hear, but for the last two to three years the only talk I've been doing is to keep myself fresh and to have a bit of rest here and there," he said. "It's always been the most important thing for me to enjoy my cricket. It's just important to look at the schedule moving forward, that's the talk in the camp and for me maybe not to play all kinds of cricket. "If I play all the IPL games the whole season, I do get a bit tired towards the end of the season. That's the only thing that I've been talking about in the last while. To keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. I love representing my country and nothing has changed." De Villiers later dropped two catches behind the stumps. He once vowed he would never take the gloves again but is shouldering the burden for the sake of team balance. Perhaps this is a warning. Change or else. "AB is in constant contact with the head coach as well as the selectors to find opportunities to give him a break from certain forms of the game," Dr Mohammed Moosaje, the South Africa team manager, said. "It is no different to discussions that take place with other senior players. At this moment in time AB is still very much committed to playing for his country. Obviously we have to look at the fixture schedule and see where we can give him a break."

Graeme Smith, the former captain close to many members of this team, sounded far from convinced by De Villiers's interview and talked of problems behind the scenes. "AB de Villiers's interview this morning wasn't that convincing," he said on the BBC. "It left a lot of doubt. If he is struggling with his workload, it just makes the decision to make him keep in this Test even more ridiculous. My sense is that there's a few rumblings in the South African camp at the moment." As captain of South Africa's one-day team and one of the world's great Twenty20 cricketers, it is presumed that the longest format of the game is the one De Villiers can trim off his schedule. What a shame that would be for Test cricket but how does a country like South Africa compete with the riches on offer elsewhere? South Africa, as a country outside of the big three who run the International Cricket Council, are powerless to shape their own future. They are at the mercy of India, England and Australia and handouts from the "Test Match Fund" set up by the big three to promote Test cricket in the poorer countries. This series is a timely opportunity for cricket in South Africa to stabilise. Nothing beats thumping England for stirring national pride. But crowds for this Test have been poor. The first two days were supposed to be sell-outs but the attendance was around 11,000 on Boxing Day and 9,000 on day two. It was 8,371 yesterday leaving Kingsmead barely a third full. Cape Town next week will be better attended but swelled by an influx of British tourists looking for January sunshine. If ever a country with a proud cricketing history needed to host a big global tournament to lift the game it is South Africa. But instead all ICC events are scheduled to be played in England, India and Australia over the next seven years.

Day-night Test cricket would help. But then there is a problem of money again. Floodlights at grounds in South Africa offer around 1200 lux, good enough for white ball night cricket but half what is needed for pink ball Tests. Upgrading will cost money and its unknown whether the returns are worth it, even if the climate lends itself to day-night Test cricket. It is understood that Cricket South Africa will receive around $US93million ($128million) from the latest ICC rights deal over the next 10 years along with $US10million ($13.7million) from the Test match fund. The sums for England (who do not receive money from the Test match fund) are believed to be around $US60million ($82.7 million) higher over the same period and India five times as much. Although the figures remain estimates at this stage, the gap is only going to grow as the strong continue to dominate the weak. At least South Africa always compete on the field. They need that spirit now more than ever. The Telegraph, London