AB's little brother is a real Wonder

WHEN Wonder Nkosi was appointed a prefect at his school recently, his "elder brother" , Proteas ODI captain AB de Villiers, was among the first to congratulate him.

The South Africa batsman and wicketkeeper has been Wonder's mentor and friend for almost three years.

Wonder, a grade 11 pupil at Hoërskool Brandwag in Benoni on the East Rand, plays wicketkeeper for his school's senior cricket team .

De Villiers volunteered to become Wonder' s mentor after he became involved with the nonprofit educational charity Make a Difference . Founded by rugby legend Francois Pienaar, Make a Difference provides financial assistance and other support to 74 underprivileged pupils .

De Villiers, who matriculated at the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) in Pretoria in 2002, took Wonder under his wing when he began attending the school in 2008.

"I was told this little boy is going to Affies and I tried to offer him some advice on how to cope there. I came from a country school, Warmbaths Primary, and I was sent to Affies and it was amazingly tough for me," De Villiers said this week. Make a Difference decided in 2009 to enrol Wonderat Brandwag so he could be closer to home.

"He speaks Afrikaans beautifully, probably better than I do. He has excelled as a person there and is doing amazingly well. He is confident about life and knows where he's going and that's really awesome to see," said De Villiers.

The prolific batsman, who is not participating in the three one-day international matches against Australia because of injury, spent time with Wonder at last Sunday's T20 match at the Wanderers as well as at Wednesday's one-day International at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

De Villiers hasn't offered the 17-year-old many cricketing tips, saying his mentoring was about giving Wonder lessons in life.

"I believe he's in a really good school and he's getting proper coaching.

"But when he decides to go into cricket one day, I will definitely be there."

Wonder said the cricketer had made a "huge" difference in his life : "I am very glad he's my mentor. He's someone special and is always there when I need him."

He added: "I talk to him when I am struggling with cricket or if I am doing badly at school. When I do well, he always calls to congratulate me."

Wonder said his classmates knew De Villiers was his mentor.

"They think it's cool but some are quite jealous."

Joyce Nkosi, a single mother, said her son had really benefited from his relationship with "his elder brother".

"He's learnt a lot from him. AB has made him a very proud young man."