Smith, who held the record, eventually declared at 584 for nine after de Villiers surpassed his score of 277 made against England in Birmingham in 2003.
De Villiers faced 418 balls as he put Pakistan attack to the sword. The right-hander, who wanted Smith to declare at tea when he was on 263, said, “It was very special and I dedicate the knock to Smith for allowing me to go on. It tells you a lot about his captaincy.
“I actually begged him at tea to just declare and get on with it because we needed a few wickets at the end of the day,” said de Villiers. “I did say it’s probably best for the team if we declare now and he said, ‘there is no way I’m declaring, you go and get that record, you deserve it’.”
De Villiers arrived at the crease after debutant fast-bowler Tanvir Ahmed had reduced South Africa to 33 for three on the first day and added 179 with Jacques Kallis.
“I could never have done this without the support of the lower order batsmen. I have never been a great believer in statistics and records. All that concerns me is to do my best for the team. I came to the crease when we were in trouble and helping Kallis get us out it meant a lot more to me than the record score.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2010.
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