Quinton de Kock does not believe his elevation to Proteas ODI captain makes him the front-runner to succeed Faf du Plessis in the Test arena too.
Cricket SA acting Director of Cricket Graeme Smith confirmed yesterday that Du Plessis’ future across all formats will come under discussion after the England series. However, Du Plessis, who previously led across all three formats, has already proclaimed that this week’s Wanderers Test could be his last at home.
This leaves the door open for a new leader of the Test side and with De Kock replacing Du Plessis in the 50-overs format, there is the belief in some quarters that South Africa’s wicket-keeper/batsman could be tasked with even more responsibility in the near future.
“I’m not too sure,” De Kock said about potentially leading the Test side. “There’s a lot of guys that are well prepared to be Test captain. Temba (Bavuma) is vice-captain and he has come back and scored a lot of runs so his name is always going to be there.
“It’s not up to me whether they want me to be Test captain or not, it’s entirely up to the coaches and Graeme (Smith) and all those guys. I don’t think I will push for it, but if they want me to then I will do it to the best of my ability.”
At the moment, though, De Kock is simply trying to support the under-fire Du Plessis. The strains of leading an under-performing team has certainly taken its toll on Du Plessis, with the skipper appearing forlorn after the heavy defeat in the third Test at St George’s Park this week.
De Kock is hoping his natural jovial demeanour will help lighten the mood in the Proteas dressingroom.
“What I am trying to do is back Faf,” De Kock said. “There is a bit of pressure, not just on him, a couple of other guys as well. I’m trying to be there, help the guys out, lighten the mood at times. It’s quite difficult when you are a player under so much pressure.
“When I have an opportunity to make someone feel better, or give them advice or just say, ‘life’s not so bad’ then I add my two cents or do what I can to help the guys.”
Some might feel that De Kock is among the batsmen under pressure. He may be the leading run-scorer for South Africa in the series, but there is a growing sentiment that he should be contributing much more than the three half-centuries that he has scored in this series.
Even more exasperating for the De Kock “haters”, particularly those that troll him on Twitter, is the manner of his dismissal. In both innings in Port Elizabeth, De Kock gifted his wicket away through poor shot selection. The new ODI skipper had a straight-forward response to his critics before taking responsibility for his mistakes.
“I am not on any social media. And that’s all thanks to you guys,” De Kock quipped. “I don’t really read or look at these things that get written about me.
“Obviously it is not rocket science I have gotten out in pretty soft way a couple of times. It’s just about me trying to rectify it.”