By Mark Gleeson JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – New South Africa captain AB de Villiers won the toss and elected to bat at the start of the third test against England at the Wanderers on Thursday as the hosts awaited the late arrival of a replacement wicketkeeper. De Villiers, who has taken over from Hashim Amla, said the decision was based on the batting form of his team from the second test in Newlands, where they fought valiantly to earn a draw after England had scored 626 runs in the first innings. “It wasn’t an easy decision but we want to put some pressure on England. We turned things around as far as our confidence is concerned in Cape Town and we come into this game energised,” De Villiers said in a pitchside interview. South Africa, who trail the four-match series 1-0, made two changes from the second test, one under bizarre last-minute circumstances. Wicketkeeper Dane Vilas was forced to make a desperate dash to the ground after being called up as a late replacement for the injured Quinton de Kock. Vilas was destined to arrive late for the first ball at 10:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) because Cricket South Africa could not book him on a flight earlier than 8 a.m. from Port Elizabeth, where he was due to play in a four-day provincial match. Flights from the coastal city to Johannesburg take two hours and the usual heavy traffic from the airport to the stadium looks set to add more drama to the dash. De Kock sustained a freak injury to his right knee on Wednesday. “Quinton slipped and sprained his right knee at home late yesterday afternoon,” South Africa manager Mohammed Moosajee said on Thursday. South Africa have also handed a debut to fast bowler Hardus Viljoen at the expense of spinner Dane Piedt. England, who won the first test by 241 runs in Durban, were unchanged despite several of the side recovering from a stomach virus that swept through the squad in Cape Town. Teams: South Africa: Stiaan van Zyl, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (captain), Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Dane Vilas (wicketkeeper), Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Hardus Viljoen England: Alastair Cook (captain), Alex Hales, Nick Compton, Joe Root, James Taylor, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson (Editing by John O’Brien) 

South Africa having won the toss, opted to bat first in their third test against
England, here at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

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Dhruv George is a Senior NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports, with an impressive record of over 14K articles. From F1 driver Pierre Gasly to Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino, Dhruv has interviewed several racers, establishing himself as an authoritative voice in the world of motorsports. Dhruv's ambition extends beyond writing, as he aspires to host a successful motorsports podcast with some of the biggest stars in the industry, like Kyle Busch.

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Dhruv George is a Senior NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports, with an impressive record of over 14K articles. From F1 driver Pierre Gasly to Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino, Dhruv has interviewed several racers, establishing himself as an authoritative voice in the world of motorsports. He not only writes engaging content but helps connect readers with some of the biggest racing names thanks to his ability to churn out exclusive interviews. Dhruv's ambition extends beyond writing, as he aspires to host a successful motorsports podcast with some of the biggest stars in the industry, like Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. When he's not writing about Stock Car Racing, he can be found reading and writing fan fiction.

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports,
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South Africa's Elgar plays a shot during the third cricket test match against England in Johannesburg

South Africa's Dean Elgar. ?REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

South Africa's Elgar plays a shot during the third cricket test match against England in Johannesburg - EssentiallySports

South Africa&#8217;s Elgar plays a shot during the third cricket test match against England in Johannesburg

South Africa opt to bat in third test against England

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AB de Villiers Biography

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers, also known as Mr 360, what can be said about him? AB de Villiers has grown to become one of the world's best batsmen. When in form, de Villiers is deadly with a capital D.

The South African possesses the knack of tearing into any bowling attack. AB de Villiers has the capability of giving bowlers nightmares for days on end. At a young age, every selector had their eyes trained on him alone. He was soon rewarded with a berth among the Proteas at the age of 20 in 2004.

In his Test debut at home against England, he almost single-handedly rescued South Africa from the jaws of defeat. In the same series, he smashed his maiden Test century. With that, the legend of AB de Villiers was born.

However, a year later, like most players, a slump in his form plagued him. But he combatted that with an?astounding 217 against India. In the process AB de Villiers set a record as the first South African to smash a double ton against India.

Ab de Villiers possesses a mainstream attacking game, he complements that with a back-and-across trigger movement and a late-block in his defensive arsenal. Aside from that, he tends to play in accordance with the situation and conditions as well.

However, he is not invincible, if an elbow surgery in 2016 is any proof.?As a result, he made an appearance in only one Test series all year.?Following his recovery, AB de Villiers returned to the limited-overs formats, but avoided Test cricket to 'lighten his workload'.

<img class="size-full wp-image-152513 aligncenter" src="http://www.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2019-04-03-at-12.05.12-AM.png" alt="AB de Villiers" width="465" height="349" />

IPL Career

With regard to the IPL AB de Villiers is a fan favourite in any city. De Villiers has been in the IPL right from its inception in 2008. During that time, he was with the Delhi Daredevils.

But he truly announced himself to the world when he joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. He still delivered handsomely for Delhi, courtesy a 105 against the Chennai Super Kings.

He was let go by Delhi in the wake of a poor 2010 season and RCB pounced immediately. They nabbed him for a whopping 1.1 million dollars and they were going to make Delhi regret their decision to drop him.

Since then, AB de Villiers has proven his money's worth for Bangalore. The big-hitting South African formed a dangerous triumvirate with skipper, Virat Kohli and Jamaican star, Chris Gayle. He ended up as the leading run-getter for RCB for three seasons.

IPL 2019 Expectations

Now, AB de Villiers has stuck around with the Royal Challengers for yet another season. The team are desperate for a maiden IPL triumph inspite of boasting the strongest batting line-up ever. He has achieved a high score of an unbeaten 133* back in 2015 at a strike rate of?175.08.

AB De Villiers

AB de Villiers Biography Abraham Benjamin de Villiers, also known as Mr 360, what can be said about him? AB de Villiers has grown to become one of the world&#8217;s best batsmen. When in form, de Villiers is deadly with a capital D. The South African possesses the knack of tearing into any bowling attack. AB de Villiers has the capability of giving bowlers nightmares for days on end. At a young age, every selector had their eyes trained on him alone. He was soon rewarded with a berth among the Proteas at the age of 20 in 2004. In his Test debut at home against England, he almost single-handedly rescued South Africa from the jaws of defeat. In the same series, he smashed his maiden Test century. With that, the legend of AB de Villiers was born. However, a year later, like most players, a slump in his form plagued him. But he combatted that with an?astounding 217 against India. In the process AB de Villiers set a record as the first South African to smash a double ton against India. Ab de Villiers possesses a mainstream attacking game, he complements that with a back-and-across trigger movement and a late-block in his defensive arsenal. Aside from that, he tends to play in accordance with the situation and conditions as well. However, he is not invincible, if an elbow surgery in 2016 is any proof.?As a result, he made an appearance in only one Test series all year.?Following his recovery, AB de Villiers returned to the limited-overs formats, but avoided Test cricket to &#8216;lighten his workload&#8217;. IPL Career With regard to the IPL AB de Villiers is a fan favourite in any city. De Villiers has been in the IPL right from its inception in 2008. During that time, he was with the Delhi Daredevils. But he truly announced himself to the world when he joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. He still delivered handsomely for Delhi, courtesy a 105 against the Chennai Super Kings. He was let go by Delhi in the wake of a poor 2010 season and RCB pounced immediately. They nabbed him for a whopping 1.1 million dollars and they were going to make Delhi regret their decision to drop him. Since then, AB de Villiers has proven his money&#8217;s worth for Bangalore. The big-hitting South African formed a dangerous triumvirate with skipper, Virat Kohli and Jamaican star, Chris Gayle. He ended up as the leading run-getter for RCB for three seasons. IPL 2019 Expectations Now, AB de Villiers has stuck around with the Royal Challengers for yet another season. The team are desperate for a maiden IPL triumph inspite of boasting the strongest batting line-up ever. He has achieved a high score of an unbeaten 133* back in 2015 at a strike rate of?175.08.