He reveals that he agreed to be captain of the test on the condition that the selectors were looking for someone else.
Quinton de Kock has confirmed that he will not be South Africa’s long-term test captain, but is willing to help his team until a permanent candidate emerges.
A de Kock, who already leads the team in white ball formats, was asked to do the same for this season’s tryouts even after cricket director Graeme Smith said South Africa didn’t want to overload its star player, that he also maintains the wicket and is among the oldest hitters on the team. de Kock admitted that accepting the job wasn’t automatic for him, and he only did so on the condition that the selectors are looking for someone else.
“When they (the selectors) told me the situation we were in, I understood where they came from. Obviously, I didn’t accept it right away. I thought about it and understood it, it’s only for now. For this season. It’s not a long-term thing. term, “said de Kock, from the team’s biosecurity bubble at Irene Country Club in Centurion. “It’s just [till] When we have someone to actually raise their hand, they will take over. Boys are looking for a long-term leadership role. I won’t do that. There seems to be a lot on my plate, but I’m pretty happy to do it for now. “
South Africa will play seven tests this summer, two against Sri Lanka, two in Pakistan and three against Australia, before shifting its focus to short formats ahead of the T20 World Cup. That means de Kock will be the captain in up to 16 games this season, including three T20Is in Pakistan and three T20Is, as well as three ODIs at home against Pakistan, and will also be the first-choice glove for most of those games.
de Kock indicated that he will continue to hold the wicket in tryouts despite Kyle Verreynne’s presence on the team, but he can let someone else take the gloves in the over fifty format. “I’m going to keep the wicket. I wasn’t going to stay in the ODI against England. We were going to give someone else a chance and now that I’m taking care of the test team, we’re looking for ways to get a lot of stuff off my shoulders,” he said. . “But in test cricket, I need to be there as a goalkeeper.”
He’ll also need to play a pivotal role in a hitting lineup that has very few certainties beyond Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis. Elgar’s opening partner is likely Aiden Markram, with Sarel Erwee and Raynard van Tonder as backup. Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Keegan Petersen and Verreynne will compete for another three spots in the top six, with De Kock likely to hit at No. 7.
In that position, you’ll have the luxury of adding momentum to a well-founded entry or the task of a lower-order repair job and it’s the latest you’ve been doing more recently. For that reason, de Kock needs specialized hitters to start making statements that show they belong, especially since there are also four of them – Elgar, Markram, Bavuma and van der Dussen – in the running for the captaincy. “We have a young team. We need our younger guys to get over it and learn fast so we can have a structured team. That’s what I would expect for this season – for the new guys to come in and start scoring runs and raising their hands,” he said.
At least there is finally one cricket problem De Kock needs to worry about.
South Africa’s preparation for the series has been chaotic, in the context of England’s withdrawal and violations of the biosecure environment in Cape Town, and with two members of its own team testing positive for Covid-19 before meeting. The team came back a full round of negative results on Sunday and will be retested on Tuesday to confirm they have all clear. Until then, they are quarantined in their hotel rooms. “We can only go to dinner and then come back to the living room, for example. And the training is done in staggered sessions,” de Kock said. “It’s a bit difficult these first two or three days. Once we do our next Covid-19 tests, if we all test negative, I’m sure it will go back to normal. Well, normal within the bubble.”
That means that the South African squad will be able to mix freely, but will still keep their distance from Sri Lanka, which will stay in the same place. “We have been cordoned off from one side of the hotel to the other. We have our own limits that we must adhere to. We will not be in the same facilities as them. We can see them but there won’t be any damage done.”
South Africa desperately needs this series to go off without incident, especially after Cricket Australia confirmed that it is keeping an eye on it before deciding whether its team will tour South Africa next year. de Kock said players are aware of the importance of doing everything possible to ensure the integrity of the biobubble is maintained. “We have that small responsibility, but it is nothing we cannot handle. It is just a small part that we can help to ensure that our future tours go forward in the times of Covid-19. We do everything we can to ensure that our bubble is safe. You are safe “.
Firdose Moonda is a correspondent for ESPNcricinfo in South Africa
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