If you are good, even really good, and from inside the big three nations, there will be a lot of noise. One good innings can start it. Virat Kohli did it with the IPL. David Warner did it with a series of slogs in a T20 against Dale Steyn. Joe Root with his first Test innings. Usman Khawaja did it with a 37.
Outside cricket's biggest markets, things move slower. Mitchell Johnson admitted that he hadn't seen much of Kane Williamson. Shiv Chanderpaul's career involved endless innings in empty stadia. Younis Khan seems to almost only exist on TV.
This is historical as well. So much rich and interesting cricket history just hasn't been documented because it didn't interest England writers or publications at the time. Early South African Test history is spotty at best. With weak touring English teams pitted against what were often horrible South African teams, on matting pitches, it just didn't grab the attention. It really wasn't until the 1960s that the cricket world started noticing them.
Aubrey Faulkner, Bruce Mitchell, Hugh Tayfield, Neil Adcock, Dave and Dudley Nourse and Herbie Taylor aren't names that get mentioned when the greats of the game are mentioned. Yet all were absolute greats of the game, almost invisible in the era before South African cricket grabbed the world, before disappearing with a lot of what-ifs.
Things are no different now. The current Test era of South Africa, where they haven't lost an overseas Test series since 2006, hasn't been covered like it would have been in another nation. The South African team, by large an incredibly normal bunch, have just gone about their business. Over a long period they are now the greatest team South Africa have ever had, but you wouldn't really know that. Their press doesn't seem to do much hyperbole. The team just plays, well.
Perhaps the fact that they can't break their ICC tournament hoodoo. Perhaps because they have lost to Australia at home. Perhaps because they have drawn so many series. They haven't grabbed people's attention like they should have. As far as Test match eras go, it could well be in the top five ever.
And in many ways, AB is the face of the modern team. Professional. Talented. Adaptable. Focused. Humble. He isn't taking photos in jacuzzis with random women. He isn't selling his image rights for record amounts. He isn't making huge, arrogant statements. He bats. He keeps. He's polite.
You could imagine some American tourist sitting next to him in business class, and when asked what he does for a living, AB answering with: "I work in sports."
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