Proteas coach Mark Boucher believes Quinton de Kock’s Test retirement may indeed be a blessing in disguise after the wicketkeeper returned to the white-ball team.
Cape Town – Quinton de Kock was widely regarded as the best wicket-keeper batsman of his generation across all formats.
The only problem with that statement is the fact that De Kock no longer plays Test cricket after his sensational retirement last month.
It was a decision that sent shock waves through South African cricket due to De Kock’s relatively young age of just 29 and the fact that he actually still led the Test side earlier in the year.
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However, now that everyone has recovered from the initial surprise, Proteas coach Mark Boucher believes it may indeed be a blessing in disguise after De Kock returned to the white-ball team in storming fashion with a Player of the Series performance that drove South Africa to a 3-0 clean sweep over India.
“It’s great to see Quinny back and smiling again,” Boucher said after the series win. “He’s got a daughter now that he is probably looking forward to get back to and it puts life into perspective as well as many dads will know.
“If you look at Quinny as a person and when he has freed his mind up is when he plays his best cricket. For Quinny, the world is his oyster going forward and hopefully, we can reap the rewards from his more relaxed way that he might be.
Your player of the series Quinton de Kock put on a show at Six Gun Grill Newlands🔥 #SAvIND #BetwayODISeries #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/VUQhFKjKa8
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 24, 2022
“It’s unfortunate that he has retired from Test cricket, but that’s freed him up in the white-ball format.”
De Kock was the leading run-scorer in the series with 229 runs at an average of 76.33, which included a sparkling 124 at Newlands on Sunday. It was his 17th career ODI century and sixth against India – equalling AB de Villiers’ record in the process.
Overall De Kock has amassed 1,013 runs against India in just 16 matches at a hugely-impressive average of 63.31 in comparison to his career average of 46.14.
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Although De Kock’s primary reason for quitting Test cricket is an attempt to avoid being an absent father and husband to his young family – his wife gave birth to their first child at the start of the year – it is no secret that spending lengthy periods within bio-bubbles have had a severe effect on him while the stress of #Kneegate during the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates would have had taken its toll.
That’s what makes a Walker. Presenting the Walkers trophy. To honour all those who choose to make every step, a step forward.
Quinton de Kock is awarded this trophy for his player of the series award against India👏#SAvIND #KeepWalking pic.twitter.com/g57icpNrzw
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 24, 2022
He will now though not need to join the Proteas in quarantine in New Zealand over the forthcoming weeks for the two Test series and is only expected to report for national duty in March when Bangladesh arrive on these shores.
There are negatives such as he admitted the “lack of game-time catches up with players” but countered it with “the more I batted, the more I felt my rhythm was coming back.”
It certainly felt like “Quinny of old” returned over the past two matches in Paarl and Cape Town with his full range of innovative strokes being unleashed. And that can only be a good thing for South African cricket moving forward.
@ZaahierAdams
