Proteas need De Kock to come good
With AB de Villiers absent, the pressure will be on keeper/batsman
Quinton de Kock will seek to retain his golden form deep into the Cricket World Cup as his runs at the top of the batting order will be crucial to any realistic South African title challenge in England and Wales.
Wicketkeeper-batsman De Kock, 26, has emerged as South Africa’s most deadly attacking weapon in their top six, with his ability to clear the boundary ropes coupled with stylish lefthanded drives and cuts against the new ball.
His form in the South African summer was eye-catching, passing 80 in four of his last six oneday international innings against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, including one century, and reaching 50 in another visit to the crease.
It has seen him rise to number four on the International Cricket Council’s ODI batting rankings, behind only India’s Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and Ross Taylor from New Zealand.
It not just his weight of runs, but also the pace at which he scores.
He has one gear. Fast. Those 436 runs in his last six knocks came off 379 balls, with the only disappointment his inability to convert more of those scores over 50 into three figures.
That is because his career record is strong in that regard, with 21 half-centuries and 14 hundreds in 106 innings at a strike-rate that is a shade under 96.
One of those centuries was a remarkable 178 from 113 balls against Australia in 2016, an innings in which he hit 16 fours and 11 sixes and was only ended as he chased a double century before the successful run chase came to a close.
De Kock was the third highest scorer in the recently completed Indian Premier League as he helped Mumbai Indians to the title, his 529 runs coming at a strike-rate of 132.91.
Without the acceleration in the middle-order of AB de Villiers, South Africa will rely heavily on De Kock’s ability to launch the innings from the outset on what are expected to be batsmen-friendly wickets in England.
South Africa will be buoyed by De Kock’s record against subcontinent teams, his ability to play spin key to that success..
He is also one of the leading wicketkeepers in the world and with no back-up in South Africa’s World Cup squad, faces a busy six weeks with the bat and the gloves.