The legendary South African batsman spent some time with England's World Cup winning captain ahead of the tournament
Thursday 18 July 2019 19:00, UK
AB De Villiers joked that he deserved some credit for England's sensational victory in the Cricket World Cup after giving Eoin Morgan some words of advice.
England won the competition for the first time ever after beating New Zealand in a super over in the final, a match which many believe to be the best in one-day international history.
De Villiers played in 114 Tests and 228 one-day internationals before retiring from international cricket in 2018, and the new Middlesex signing said he and Morgan socialised before England's opening game against South Africa.
"He stayed over my house for a couple of nights," said De Villiers.
"We played a bit of golf, there was a couple of glasses of red wine involved and the conversation was very interesting.
"I'm claiming it, I gave him the right advice to go all the way."
Attention will soon shift to the Ashes, with England starting their campaign against Australia at Edgbaston on August 1, with every ball live on Sky Sports Cricket.
De Villiers believes two of England's stars of the World Cup, Jofra Archer and Jason Roy, should be included in Trevor Bayliss' squad.
"Archer is still young, he hasn't played a lot of longer format stuff so there is a bit of thinking that has got to go behind it.
"But talent-wise, skill-wise, he's the perfect fit. He can bowl a lot of overs, he can bat as well and if he's managed well I'm sure he's going to be a great performer for England cricket in the future.
"I think Roy is one of those guys who likes the big moment, he likes to put his chest out for his team and he likes to perform. I would certainly think of getting him in the mix and giving him a chance."
De Villiers also refused to rule out returning to international cricket himself if the opportunity arose in the future.
"Never say never," he said. "If I'm still fit, if I'm still good enough and competing with the best in the world I would think about it."
England face Ireland in a one-off Test ahead of the Ashes. Make sure you catch all the action on Sky Sports Cricket on July 24, on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 10am.
