De Kock happy to learn his trade under du Plessis
SOUTH AFRICA’S new one-day captain Quinton de Kock is happy to keep learning from Faf du Plessis rather than plotting to take over the Test job too.
De Kock has been named as the Proteas’ new 50-over captain as they look to build towards the 2023 World Cup and will have a clear run at the role with du Plessis being rested for the threematch series against England.
Du Plessis is committed to leading his side at the T20 World Cup in Australia but there is less clarity about his role in the fiveday format after this week’s deciding Test against Joe Root’s side in Johannesburg.
Asked if he now saw himself as du Plessis’s heir apparent, the wicketkeeper-batsman said: “I’m not sure, there are a lot of guys who are also well prepared to be the Test captain.
“Temba (Bavuma) was the vicecaptain, and he’s come back in having scored a lot of runs.
“He’s always going to be there. But it’s not up to me. If they want me to be the Test captain that is entirely up to the coaches and (acting director of cricket) Graeme Smith.
“I don’t think I’ll push for it but if they want me I’ll do it the best I possibly can. What I have learned from Faf is the amount of patience he’s developed over the years, dealing with a lot of highprofile players and with a lot of opinions around.
“He’s had the patience to deal with that as a captain and I think he’s grown as a person. I’ve seen that from standing next to him at keeper.”
For the next few days de Kock’s main focus will be on helping his side square the Test series at The Wanderers. He is currently South Africa’s top run-scorer across the three matches on 265, second only to Ben Stokes.
But there have been a couple of notably tame dismissals and he is aware of the need to refocus.
“I’ve still got a lot of responsibilities to deal with before I think about the ODIs. Nothing has changed yet,” he said.
“I’ve got out in some pretty soft ways. A lot of times the guys forget we’re playing the situation and not the bowler. What we need is one guy to go really big and another couple of guys to cash in when they can.”