AB de Villiers: South Africa's 360-Degree Batter — Fastest ODI Century (31 Balls), Retired 2018
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is a South African cricketer born on 17 February 1984 in Warmbaths, Limpopo. He is one of the most naturally gifted batsmen in cricket history, regarded as the 'best fielder' and the '360-degree batter' — capable of hitting the ball to any part of the ground. He holds the record for the fastest century in ODI cricket: 31 balls against the West Indies at the Wanderers, Johannesburg in January 2015. He scored 16,349 international runs across all formats. He also holds the record for the fastest ODI fifty (16 balls) and fastest ODI 150 (64 balls). He retired from international cricket in May 2018. He was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year four times (2010, 2014, 2015, 2016).
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers was born on 17 February 1984 in Warmbaths, Limpopo, South Africa. He made his Test debut in December 2004 against England at Port Elizabeth and his ODI debut in February 2005. He is ambidextrous in sports — he was a national-level junior rugby player, hockey player, and swimmer before choosing cricket. As a cricketer, he is known for his ability to hit the ball 360 degrees around the wicket: scoops, ramps, switch hits, conventional drives, and pull shots are all deployed in the same innings.
Fastest ODI Century: 31 Balls at the Wanderers
On 18 January 2015 at the Wanderers, Johannesburg, AB de Villiers scored 149 off 44 balls against the West Indies — including the fastest century in ODI history (31 balls). He also set the records for the fastest ODI fifty (16 balls) and fastest ODI 150 (64 balls) in the same innings. South Africa scored 439 for 2 — the highest ODI total at that time. He finished his career with 9,577 ODI runs at 53.50 and 8,765 Test runs at 50.66 — giving him over 16,000 runs across just Tests and ODIs, plus T20I runs. He was South Africa's first ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2010 and won the award again in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Retirement and Legacy
AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all international cricket in May 2018 — without playing in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, which South Africa had been building toward. He continued to play franchise cricket, including the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), where he played alongside Virat Kohli for many years. He briefly came out of retirement in 2021 but ultimately did not return to the international stage. His RCB partnership with Kohli is one of the most celebrated in IPL history.
Frequently asked questions
What is AB de Villiers' fastest ODI century record?
AB de Villiers scored the fastest century in ODI cricket history off just 31 balls against the West Indies at the Wanderers, Johannesburg on 18 January 2015. In the same innings he also set the records for the fastest ODI fifty (16 balls) and fastest ODI 150 (64 balls). He scored 149 off 44 balls in total. He was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year four times: 2010, 2014, 2015, and 2016.