Is AB de Villiers great, or just very good?

An average of more than 50 after more than 114 tests , playing majority of those in South Africa -toughest to bat on the planet. He has won test matches all over the world with bat. If this is not greatness , then I don't know what it is. You don't necessarily need 10K+ runs or 30+ centuries to be regarded as great . He can defend like Dravid/Boycott or slay like Viv. In my opinion he is the best batsman post Sachin era , along with Kohli. Batsman with no weakness

Now that he has retired , I feel AB is highly underrated in test cricket. For me he , along with Kohli , is the best batsman since Sachin .He withstood Johnson at his peak when others were falling like nine pins. He is definitely the most gifted batsman to play the game since Sachin. He can attack best bowlers in Test as he showed against Starc and co in his last series. He can defend like Dravid for all day on most treacherous pitches. The reason, most people don't give AB his due in Test , in my opinion , is perhaps lack of centuries or 10k runs . But in terms of impact he was next to none in his time. Clarke looked cooked up by the time he finished. AB retired after winning South Africa 2 test series. He was the difference between India and South Africa - in first 2 tests when series was alive.He was a batsman with no weakness.

This is indeed a great team

Wow! "...AB is clearly better than Lara, Tendulkar and Ponting"! I'll have some of what he is having!

What is your definition of a "road"? Melbourne = Yes! The rest = No!

My all time best ODI XI Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist(wk), Sir Vivian Richards (c), Virat Kohli , AB de Villiers, Michael Bevan,Lance Klusener, Shane Warne, , Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Glenn McGrath

Bad writing; questioning AB's greatness is insane. Stats are like CVs. You look at them for screening. AB has the stats to prove he won in keenly contested important matches played against quality opposition home and away. Then you have to proceed to see other more important stuff. Like Viv Richards he can defend smoothly on the front foot and drive on the up against those who bowl at over 90mph; we saw that when he played against Mitch Johnson at his best. In pulling fast bowlers he is not any less effective but doesn't look convincing as Viv Richards but only Martin Crow and Ricky Ponting did since seventies. Back foot cutting also is different these days; Richards cut it beautifully. And importantly like a new car he can pick up quickly after entry like Richards; remember Greg Chappel was like a goods train; he almost took 2 hours to get going. And AB has 2 things Richards didn't have. He cope with so much more cricket and has many additional cricket strokes. However Richards excited more. Martin Crowe too was probably better. But AB is clearly better than Lara, Tendulkar and Ponting. Kallis was a goods train all the time. Kohli still has a lot to prove; its better not to compare Smith with anyone; he is doing it the way no one likes but you can't say he is any lesser than anyone.

I really wouldn't. I accept it's a huge call to not have him in an all-time best ODI team. I recall many a big booming innings by Gilchrist. Is Gilchrist a top 5 or top 10 all time ODI cricketer? Yes. Absolutely. But can he fit into a first XI when roles/responsibilities are taken into account? For me, no. Gilchrist is an excellent opener, and Dhoni is an excellent finisher. Both played their role to perfection in world cup victories. But, there are more better openers than Gilchrist than there are better finishers than Dhoni. Thus Dhoni gets the nod. He's also the captain in this team. First XI Tendulkar, Amla, Richards, Kohli, AB de Villiers, Dhoni, Akram, Warne, McGrath, Bond (short career - wildly good though), Murali. I'm not a big allrounder fan, and I wouldn't necessarily see the need for an allrounder with my top order. Any all time best XI doesn't need one. You have to assume each would perform their job to the degree their reputation expects. I would have no objection if someone wanted to replace Bond with Waqar. Before people kibosh Amla - remember that the man strikes at 90, averages 50 (which as an opener is borderline absurd) and is quietly breaking all the run records Kohli sets. To be honest, if my team bowled first, I doubt they'd be chasing anymore than 150 anyway, so who cares who is batting! :p

If AB had played as many Tests as Cook over the past seven years he'd now have about 12,000 Test runs to his name

I think we haven't seen the best of AB as a Test batsman because he hasn't played a huge amount of Tests during his peak years as a batsman. He really took off as a batsman from around the age of 27, yet he played 60% of his career Test matches before that age. Since turning 27 yeas old, he's only played 45 Tests over seven years - that's just 6.5 Tests per year. By comparison, Alastair Cook has played twice as many Tests (88) in that same period.

I guarantee you if your ODI first XI played a game against a 2nd XI and Gilly was in it, you'd be ruing your decision after the first ten overs

No. Nowhere near to the same effect as Richards, Kohli or AB. Gilchrist deserves top billing for that in the test arena, but in ODI's he was simply carrying on the efforts of others who kickstarted it. Richards, Kohli and AB were doing this while averaging near to 50 or over. I'd put Gilchrist at the top of a second tier of quality bats who include Jayasuriya (the man who invented modern ODI opening), Sehwag and to a lesser extent, Chris Gayle. It's kind of been forgotten since he became a T20 mercenary, but he is the holder of a very good ODI career. it seems bizarre to say this, but Gilchrist wouldn't make my all time ODI 1st XI.

Crap. 4-0 in an Ashes Series suggests that results pitches were produced. Adelaide under lights also was far from a "road". Perhaps you could actually watch the games before commenting next time?

If you do that then you must add Steve Waugh and Smith to the "Greats" list!

Whenever I think about ABD, I compare him with tennis star Nadal. When fully fit and playing his top game, he is the best. Second to none.. but problem is fitness.. stays out of the game far too often... Going by the rate at which he is missing games at the moment, he and Steyn may well be in the danger missing 2019 WC

Overall,He is ATG but just misses out of being ATG in test.But Let's not forget that he was terrific test batsmen in Test.he was no 1 in Test for quite some time and achieved 935 points in ICC test ranking while batting at no 5 position.He most probably would've been ATG by now in test also if only he would've played Test matches in 2016 & 2017.