NEU » was one of those gritty, hard-working individuals.

Dale Steyn has joined convener of selectors Linda Zondi in endorsing AB de Villiers as South Africas permanent Test captain, and wants to see him back in the role once fit.I think so, he is the captain. He is definitely the captain, Steyn said at an exhibition match between the South African cricket and rugby teams at Newlands. I know Faf has done really well for us right now, but AB is the captain. He has earned that spot. He has played for a long time, and he said he wants to do it and he got the opportunity to. Unfortunately, he got injured, but he is the man at the end of the day.De Villiers was named Test captain in February after having taken the role temporarily when Hashim Amla stood down midway during the home series against England, but has yet to properly assume his new job. An elbow injury that required surgery kept de Villiers out of the home Tests against New Zealand in August and the series in Australia. He is expected to be fit for the Sri Lanka series, which starts on Boxing Day. But he has only had one net session so far and has yet to get any game time, which is why Graeme Smith felt de Villiers focus should be on getting match fit before he thinks about the captaincy conundrum.The most important thing for AB now is just to focus on getting back and fit and playing cricket. I dont think he should even engage in thinking about that (the captaincy) because he cant captain from the sidelines, Smith said. Having had an elbow injury, its not an easy thing to recover from. It takes time, getting those tendons strong and all those muscles. Thats your primary arm that you use when you bat. He should focus on that. The sooner we can get him playing cricket for South Africa, the better.Smith said he enjoyed seeing South Africa streamline the leadership, but explained they may be wary of appointing one captain across formats as T20s could create the space required for managing the Test and ODI captains workload. Its very difficult to captain all three formats, and the T20 format is a difficult one because you dont play a huge amount of cricket. So is that the right time to rest your captain, with the workloads he is going to have in one-day and Test cricket? Smith asked.Smith isnt the only one to voice that concern. After de Villiers spent a significant period of the previous summer hinting that heavy workloads could send him into early retirement, the most obvious solution seemed to be him playing fewer, or even no international T20s. Du Plessis is the captain in that format, and with no ICC event scheduled until 2020, de Villiers may not get a chance to win a major trophy in T20Is, choosing instead to focus on Tests and ODIs. In that case, keeping your captain fresh is an important part of maintaining success, Smith said.The only problem with that is that South Africas recent successes, after the troubles in the previous summer, have come under du Plessis. He was brought back to lead the side, after being dropped for the final Test against England earlier this year. South Africa won both series they played under him to begin their climb from No. 7.Du Plessis leadership was widely praised, and the squad showed him an extraordinary level of support, particularly when he was charged with ball tampering. Du Plessis himself said he saw that as a sign they respected him as a leader. However, he was quick to dismiss suggestions that he was after de Villiers job, saying he was 100% behind de Villiers when he returns as captain.Steyn, who will be sidelined for at least the rest of this season as he recovers from a broken shoulder, agreed. When AB steps back into the side, there should be almost no question about it. I know there have been eyebrows raised because Faf has done well, but there should never be any question about who the real captain is or who the captain is, and he should just step back into it and continue what Faf has already started.Bob Lilly Womens Jersey .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Tony Romo Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. 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LOUIS -- In what was billed as a largely ceremonial pinch-hitting appearance, Matt Holliday hit a home run Friday night.The St. Louis Cardinals activated the outfielder before playing the Pittsburgh Pirates so that fans at Busch Stadium could bid the seven-time All-Star goodbye in one of the final three regular-season games.Holliday was greeted with a loud standing ovation from an announced crowd of 43,070, but that was nothing compared to the greeting after he hit reliever?Zach Phillips third pitch to him over the right-field wall. It was the first pinch-hit home run of Hollidays 13-year major league career.Cardinals players also greeted Holliday with a standing ovation, and he was mobbed in the dugout before coming out for a curtain call.The Cardinals went on to win 7-0.I still have chills, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. To watch how the fans responded, we had a great crowd tonight, and every one of them made that extremely special for him. And how he responded, thats, yeah, amazing. Very special night.General manager John Mozeliak said before the game that he spoke with Holliday earlier this week and informed him the odds of the team picking up his $17 million option for 2017 were low.Most people who have options and they ask me in season, I simply tell them, Look, well deal with that when the time comes. In his case, I feel hes earned the type of respect and had the type of career here that he had that right, Mozeliak said.The Cardinals said Holliday was too emotional to meet with reporters before the game, but he released a statement through the team that read, in part: It has been an honor to play in front of such great fans and for such a historic organization. I can honestly say it has been a dream come true. While Im disappointed this could be it here in St. Louis, I understand that it might be time to move on.Holliday, 36, expressed his love and admiration for Matheny, former manager Tony La Russa and the coaches with whom he worked.The most emotional part of this is my teammates andd the relationships Ive built with some of these guys over the years, particularly,?Adam [Wainwright] and Yadi [Molina], to be considered part of the core with two of the finest human beings Ive ever known, Holliday said.dddddddddddd.Holliday had faced live pitching just once since he was hit by a pitch in July, which required surgery on his thumb.Its been tough for him because he wants to be back, Wainwright said. Each time he went out and hit batting practice, his thumb would swell up, and nobody wants to have surgery and then have it swell up. I think he just wanted to get out there and play, help the team win. Hes a great hitter, one of the best hitters of this generation. Hes been a great Cardinal, but I know he did not want to sit on the bench and not get another at-bat here.Matheny said he thinks Holliday wants to continue playing beyond this season. Holliday entered Friday batting .247, the lowest average of his career, but the home run Friday gave him 20 for the sixth time in his past seven seasons.I dont think theres a question about that, at least in conversations weve had, Matheny said.The Cardinals acquired Holliday from the Oakland Athletics in 2009, then signed him to a seven-year, $120 million extension the following offseason. Over nearly 1,000 games with the Cardinals entering Friday, Holliday had collected a .292/.379/.493 line.Once the Cardinals decline his option in November, he will get a $1 million buyout.Hollidays extension is viewed as one of the few multiyear free-agent deals in which the player lived up to it throughout its length.Very rare, especially a deal of that length. I feel grateful, Mozeliak said. As I mentioned, Ive always admired him as a player, even before we traded for him, thought he was one of those gritty, hard-working individuals. But getting to know him, getting to see how he is as a person, Ive gained tremendous respect for him.was one of those gritty, hard-working individuals. '