AB de Villiers is arguably South Africa's best ODI batsman. He drives the ball with skill and panache, tackles spin with the footwork of a dancer, and bolts between the wickets with the determination and speed of someone who oozes self-belief. de Villiers is from the breed of new generation, risk taking cricketers, but the sensible head he carries on his shoulders means he has already established himself as a senior member of the South African squad. He is one of the best fielders of his generation, but these days can be found donning the wicketkeepers' gloves. De Villiers was named the ODI player of the year at the ICC awards in 2010. Strengths His adaptability is his greatest strength as an ODI batsman: he can give the ball an almighty whack, or revert to the hunter-gatherer method of scoring singles, depending on the needs of the team. Plucking balls out of the sky to take catches and preventing quick singles are his other fortes. Key stats

de Villiers has scored 964 runs in 2010 at an average of 80.33 with five centuries and four half-centuries

Eight of his nine centuries have come in wins. He averages 53.52 in wins and 29 in losses

Despite scoring a century and two fifties, de Villiers aggregated just 372 runs in ten World Cup matches at an average of 37.2 All stats updated till before the start of the 2011 World Cup. World Cup tracker De Villiers has played in just one World Cup, in 2007, and was the team's third-highest run-scorer with 372 in 10 matches. He opened the batting and finished with a tournament strike rate of 100.81. Two fifties, one against Scotland and a fighting 92 off 70 balls in a group stage match against Australia, were the precursors to his blistering hundred against the West Indies in the Super Eights. Expert view "He is the expansive match winner in the batting order through his talent and flair."- Kepler Wessels Firdose Moonda