Former Proteas stars AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir have been included in the International Cricket Council’s Teams of the Decade.

The governing body announced its Test, ODI and T20I teams of the past decade on Sunday with De Villiers, Steyn and Tahir joining an elite group of players, deemed the best in the game for the past ten years.

Steyn was named as the only South African player in the Test team of the Decade, while De Villiers and Tahir were both included in the ODI Team of the Decade.

De Villiers was also awarded with a place in the star-studded T20I Team of the Decade. Proteas Women pair Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp were both named in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Decade.

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Cricket South Africa’s director of cricket, Graeme Smith, heaped the praise on the five players and gave special mention to Van Niekerk and Kapp, who have played a pivotal role in growing the women’s game across South Africa.

‘Having our players being selected in these teams is an incredible honour. It is also a massive feather in their caps and speaks about the immense contribution they have made to cricket not just domestically, but on a global stage,’ Smith said in a statement.

‘Their inclusions also speak of their consistency and their class as individuals. They have performed impeccably year in and year out for South Africa and we are very proud of them.

‘We at CSA would therefore like to like to congratulate AB, Dale, Immi (Tahir), Dane and Marizanne. We have seen the women’s game evolve at a rapid rate in the last three or four years. Players like Dane and Marizanne have been at the forefront of that evolution and their recognition by the ICC is testament to their efforts.’

Teams of the Decade:

Test Team of the Decade: Alistair Cook, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli (c), Steve Smith, Kumar Sangakkara, Ben Stokes, Ravi Ashwin, Dale Steyn, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

Men’s ODI team of the decade: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shakib Al-Hasan, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Ben Stokes, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Imran Tahir and Lasith Malinga

Women’s ODI team of the decade: Alyssa Healy, Suzie Bates, Mithali Raj, Meg Lanning (c), Stafanie Taylor, Sarah Taylor (wk), Ellyse Perry, Dane Van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp, Jhulan Goswami, Anisa Mohammed