The nation's strategy to dismiss AB de Villiers took on desperate measures in last night's fourth one-day cricket international in Hamilton when he was serenaded through the public address system by his own pop song.
The 33-year-old was at his barnacle best on the way to 72 not out from57 balls in South Africa's 279 for eight.
New Zealand eventually beat the visitors by seven wickets, courtesy of Martin Guptill's 180 not out from 138 balls.
A break in play saw de Villiers' hit single Maak Jou Drome Waar (translated from Afrikaans as Make Your Dreams Come True) waft across the ground in a subtle attempt at distraction.
He released a bilingual pop album of the same name in August 2010, described by a fan site as consisting "mainly of power ballads with a 'follow-your-dreams' theme; and of love songs".
De Villiers learned to play the guitar at school and often takes it on tour.
At the time of release he said "it has always been my dream to make and record music. And we're not merely dabbling in it - we've decided that our CD can't be anything but great."
The subterfuge effort came to nought as the Proteas, courtesy of de Villiers, Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell, blasted 100 runs from the last eight overs of their innings.
