Had he chosen a different sporting path as a teenager, AB de Villiers could have found himself 75 miles from Leeds in the past week, among the golfing elite at Royal Birkdale.

He was a scratch player while still at school before cricket claimed him in the face of stiff competition.

Ton up: AB de Villiers celebrates his century during day three of the Second Test at Headingley.

The 24-year-old from Pretoria was also a prodigiously talented fly half who played alongside and against future Springboks. But, unusually for an Afrikaner, he turned his back on the great god rugby too.

Yesterday, De Villiers showed that his decision to make his name as a stroke-maker with a bat rather than with a bag of clubs was an inspired one, with a combative, commanding innings of 174.

In the process, he steered South Africa into a position of dominance in the second Test and delivered the proverbial two-finger salute to Michael Vaughan for subjecting him to a lunch-time rant on Friday.

When De Villiers claimed a slip catch off Andrew Strauss that morning, it lit the fuse for a day of antagonism between England and the tourists as replays showed the ball had bounced into his hand. Although he apologised to Strauss, it did not stop Vaughan collaring him for a few stern words during the interval. 

His sudden status as the visiting pantomime villain was confirmed yesterday. When De Villiers reached his hundred, following an agonising wait on 99, the boos around Headingley were as audible as the modest applause, although Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell later offered congratulatory handshakes.

Yet the vocal scorn of the crowd was all so much water off a duck's back for a man who is finally settled and fulfilling the potential which has been apparent since his debut against England at Port Elizabeth in 2004.

While South Africa have readily made him a stalwart of their batting line-up, he has often been a victim of his versatility, willingly standing in as an opener or even as wicketkeeper - a role which is his for the taking when Mark Boucher retires.

A Test average of 40 does not do him justice but a figure of 48 when batting at No 6 is a more accurate reflection of what he brings to the table. To date, he has 14 fifties and six hundreds to his name.

His star has been on the rise in 2008, with a century against the West Indies at home followed by a career-best, unbeaten 217 against India in Ahmedabad and then this latest offering. Furthermore, De Villiers has extended his own world record for Test innings without a duck to an astonishing 73.

England have found out the hard way that he is no pushover as he revealed immense powers of concentration and application. His 174 runs came off 381 balls and included 61 singles.

This was a concerted attempt to suppress natural instincts. Normally, he is known for pyrotechnics, not patience, but the match situation demanded restraint, so the cavalier in De Villiers was hidden from view.

Very rarely did he offer England's weary attack any hope that he might throw his wicket away. When he was eventually undone by a full length Stuart Broad delivery, it took a stunning slip catch by Andrew Flintoff finally to end his Herculean contribution.