Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I don't know how I'm gonna pick up a bat again. I just need to be away for a bit and play with my dogs.
I accept that it is not always moonshine and roses, and you can't expect things must always go your way.
I was brought up to always see the glass half full instead of half empty and played my cricket that way.
From a personal standpoint, my ability to play all around the wicket is more mindset than anything else.
It's a huge honour to play my 100th Test, and I never in my life thought I'll be in this kind of position.
When I'm fielding at point, I'm running all over that field, and I'm really tired by the end of the innings.
If you don't learn, especially if you are not playing well, then you are not going to move forward as a team.
I rest a bit more when I keep. The only thing I have to look after is my back and using different muscle groups.
I know Test cricket is more about endurance. T20 is more about innovating, creating, and the energy at the wicket.
For my part, I am not a great believer in bad luck on the cricket field, in business - in fact, in any walk of life.
I will always be grateful to the coaches and staff of Cricket South Africa for their support through all these years.
You represent your country - that's the biggest honour ever. I had the privilege of doing that for more than 14 years.
You've got to be able to work hard. There must be inner drive that you want to be the best in the world at what you do.
In all kinds of sports, you have to get the confidence going within before you can start proving people wrong or right.
If you pick up that information, the first metre or two, the ball coming out of the hand, you can analyse what's coming.
Yes, I would have loved to win it, but I have great memories from World Cups. The 2007 tournament - my first - was very special.
I like to entertain the crowd. Personally I like to entertain my team-mates first, but when the crowd gets going, it is amazing.
I love keeping. I'm in the game all the time. I see angles that I wouldn't normally see, and I feel part of what the captain does.
It's important to make sure your players have the mindset that playing international cricket is still the ultimate form of cricket.
I often speak about tennis being one of the most important sports when I was growing up, for my hand-eye coordination and quick feet.
It's never been about my own runs. If I can score as many as possible to get us into a position to win, then I'll be a very happy man.
It will never be much fun until a Proteas team finally goes out and wins one of these ICC limited-overs tournaments. That will happen one day.
It's tough at slip. The ball doesn't come to you very often. So from that perspective, I enjoy keeping more - you're in the game the whole time.
Far from being a mere consequence of winning, strong team spirit is an essential ingredient of sporting success; it comes before, not afterwards.
After 114 Test matches, 228 ODIs, and 78 T20 Internationals, it is time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired.
We want to swing the ball as much as we can. We try and get it to reverse, putting more sweat on one side and things like that. But we don't cheat.
There are big tournaments going on around the world, and some of them you cannot ignore because, financially, they make a huge difference in our lives.
As a captain, I can't make the same mistake twice. As a player, you can get away with that, but if the captain does that, then it affects the whole team.
I'll do whatever it takes for us to win games of cricket. If I have to sledge, I'll get involved like that. I'll try and intimidate a player if I have to.
In my heart, international cricket is the way forward. That's where you want to play; that's where the pressure really lies. That's where you make your name.
I try and watch the ball closely. I've played the game for many years now, and I know my talent will take over if I just watch the ball and enjoy myself out there.
I'm a bit undercooked when it comes to keeping in Test cricket, but I've had a lot of experience in T20 and ODIs for my country, and my keeping has improved a lot.
An IPL match may be decided when the ball passes inches beyond the grasp of a fielder on the boundary or when a direct hit catches a batsman inches short of the crease.
My mindset in all three formats, in any situation, is exactly the same. I just want to get myself in, get myself a nice foundation to hopefully attack and dominate the bowlers.
I'm not a nice guy on the field, and I've never really respected a guy who's been a 'nice guy' on the field. I want opposition to be hard, to play to win the game for their team.
I truly believe that players who tell you they don't feel the pressure of international cricket, of being away from home for months at a time, are lying to everyone and themselves.
It's not really part of the game to say, 'Oh, it's a batter's game; it's a batter's game' - I don't know why it goes on. It's a beautiful game that's greatly competitive between bat and ball.
The fear of failing... not quite the fear of failing, but the uncertainty of whether you are going to perform or not, is there every single game I have played in my life. It will always be there.
I've made peace with the fact that the World Cup will not define me. Yes, it would be nice to add that to what's been a very enjoyable career, but I know it won't define me as a person or cricketer.
Money wasn't the motivating factor in calling time on my international career and focusing on T20 cricket. If I was here to make as much money as I can, I would be playing 10 to 12 tournaments a year.
Playing at the highest level alongside your friends, scoring runs for your country are things that I look back and go, 'Ah, I miss that a little bit,' but there's a lot I don't miss. I don't miss 90 per cent of it.
I announced my retirement from international cricket in May 2018 because I wanted to reduce my workload and spend more time with my wife and young sons. Some have insisted I was motivated purely by money. They are wrong.
There's a lot of reasons I had to move on. Family's definitely a big part of it. And the longevity of my career - I played for 15 years, and I was just tired of the whole international scene. It's quite busy. Very stressful.
I watch the ball, and I just play. I have always said that I don't feel there's a big difference between the three formats. It is just a mindset, applying yourself to the wicket and conditions, and that's always been the way that I have played.
You live for those pressure moments. Through an international career, you have ups and downs, but you always feel you are going to be tested in moments like that. It has taken me years to feel comfortable and to feel like I have good composure in those situations.
Even the thunderous master-blasters, like Andre Russell and MS Dhoni, men who now make scoring more than 20 runs per over look simple, often thrive on the right side of an incredibly slender gap between six and out. They are not more lucky than anyone else. They are more brilliant.
I believe I am strong mentally. My breaking points might be bigger than most players. I think it's because of the way I grew up with my two older brothers. They pushed my limits quite often - once every day, I think! I think that played a big role in my breaking point being bigger than most players. Not all players.