Quinton de Kock did not stay retired for long. After calling time on one-day internationals straight after the 2023 World Cup, the left-hander quietly made himself available again this year and promptly peeled off 239 runs in three ODIs in Pakistan – an average of 119.5 that speaks for itself.
“I think he’s big, he’s massive,” South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince said. “With Rohit [Sharma] and Virat [Kohli] coming to the Indian team, I think Quinny probably has a similar effect coming into our team with his experience, with his quality that we saw in Pakistan.”
Prince’s comparison felt bold at first glance, yet there is method in it. De Kock is South Africa’s third-highest ODI run-scorer and, crucially, a senior left-hander in a squad sprinkled with youngsters trying to find their feet. Prince continued: “His presence definitely boosted the dressing-room and we got quite a few young left-handers and just quite a few young players in the team. For them to sit around and have a few conversations with him and also be out with him in the middle and bat with him, I think that does a lot for their growth – being able to bat with him out in the middle. So he is a big influence for us.”
The immediate task is a white-ball tour of India, and talk has already drifted to the potential impact of Marco Jansen. The 25-year-old all-rounder was outstanding in the recent 2-0 Test win over India, thumping 93 from 91 balls in Guwahati before collecting 6 for 48 with the ball. Prince broke down why that mixed bag matters.
“I think what’s important for Marco is clarity about how he bats. When you’re batting at No 8, No 9, generally you don’t have a lot of partners. So for him… once he gets in, he needs to score quickly, because he’s only got one or two partners to come. So playing an aggressive role is something that we discussed.
“And then to follow that up with the ball in the way that he did. Again, we talk about assessing the conditions. When we come to India, we don’t expect the pitches to bounce as much as that one did. So we assess this communication between our batters and our bowlers. And our batter’s feedback was that the bounce is quite steep. Maybe we should look to use the bounce more than what we anticipated. And the bounce was quite steep and it was difficult to handle… Therefore, we say adapting to what is in front of us is the most important thing.”
There is still a fair bit to iron out – de Kock’s glovework looked rusty in Rawalpindi, and Jansen’s yorker length went missing for a spell – yet South Africa, who have flitted between sublime and shaky in recent seasons, suddenly appear to have pillars at the top and tail of their line-up.
India, for their part, are likely to bring back Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the one-day leg, which should offer a useful measuring stick. By then we will learn whether de Kock’s short, explosive cameo in Pakistan was a warm-up act or the start of something more durable.
