Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock (born 17 December 1992 in Johannesburg) is a South African cricketer who also represents Gauteng and the Highveld Lions at domestic level. A wicketkeeper-batsman he has represented his country at Under-19 level & currently plays for the senior team at international level.^[1]

Personal Life

De Kock attended King Edward VII School in Johannesburg, the same school where Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie had also studied before. He was spotted as a schoolboy talent and used to play for the affiliate club Old Eds.^[2]

Early emerging career

2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup

In 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, he scored 95 off 131 balls in their first campaign against Bangladesh in the match they won by 133 runs.^[3] In the second match against Namibia, he scored 126 off 106 balls and they won it also by a massive 209 runs.^[4] In the quarter-final match against England, although de Kock scored only 7 runs, but performed well standing behind the wickets with 5 dismissals (2 stumpings, 3 catches). They won the match by 103 runs.^[5] de Kock also scored 50 during the 3rd place match of the tournament against New Zealand where they won by 8 wickets and emerged as the 3rd placed team in the tournament.^[6][7] He scored total 284 runs throughout the tournament and became the fourth highest run-getter there.

2012 Champions League Twenty20

De Kock came to the spotlight after scoring 51 not out off 33 balls in their first match for South African Highveld Lions against Mumbai Indians in Champions League Twenty20, 2012 in Johannesburg. While chasing 158, after an early breakdown, he along with the experienced Neil McKenzie took the team home.^[8] Although he failed to keep this consistency in the remaining matches, he came to the spotlight after this tournament.

International debut

De Kock represented South Africa for the first time, at T20 level, on 21 December 2012 against New Zealand. While South Africa crushed New Zealand and got them all out for only 86, the hosts chased it down easily with 8 wickets still remaining. De Kock made an impression on his first appearance by scoring an unbeaten 28 off 23 while chasing. He also kept wicket and gloved two catches.^[9] De Kock made his debut for the South African ODI side on 19 January 2013, against New Zealand at Boland Park Stadium, Paarl, South Africa.^[10] It was reported that he was training and grooming under veteran retired South African wicket-keeper batsman Mark Boucher ahead of the ODI series against New Zealand.^[11] He was promoted to the opening batting spot from his second match onwards with Graeme Smith in his debut series.^[12]

2013 Ram Slam Twenty20 Season

In 2013 Ram Slam Twenty20 tournament, the domestic twenty20 tournament in South Africa, De Kock scored several good knocks to take his team Highveld Lions to the final where they won, eventually becoming the season champions. On 18 February 2013, in the same tournament against Cape Cobras he hit the second highest T20 score of 126 in South Africa.^[13]

Indian Premier League

De Kock was bought for $20,000 by IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL players' auction on 3 February 2013 to play for the 2013 IPL Season.^[14] But he failed to impress in IPL-6 when he got chances in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad.

2013 Champions League Twenty20

In 2013 CLT20 which was hosted in India, de Kock scored 109 not out off 63 balls against Otago Volts in Jaipur, Rajasthan.^[15]

2013 UAE Tour Versus Pakistan

In November 2013, he was selected in the first XI of South Africa against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in place of Colin Ingram who was dropped for going through a bad form. De Kock scored a match winning 112 off 135 balls on a tough batting track in Abu Dhabi in the fourth ODI to reach his maiden One Day International century. South Africa won the ODI series 4-1. They also played two T20 games against Pakistan. De Kock scored 48 not out in the first match while chasing and took them home. They won that T20 series too by 2-0.^[16]

Breakthrough in ODIs

2013 ODI Series Against India

On 5 December 2013, De Kock scored 135 against India at his home ground in Johannesburg. His innings guided the team to a 141-run victory over India and he was awarded his first ever 'Man of the Match' award in One Day International cricket.^[17] He followed his performance with another successive ODI ton in the next match against the same team in Durban. He scored 106 runs making a record-breaking opening stand of 194 in Durban with fellow team-mate Hashim Amla who also scored a century in the same match.^[18] This performance awarded him another 'Man of the Match' award while they already won the series beating India by 134 runs. He again broke a century knock of 101 in the 3rd ODI which was later abandoned due to rain, but he became only the fifth person to achieve this feat of three consecutive centuries in One Day Internationals, after Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar, Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers. He also became the highest run-getter ever in a three-match bilateral ODI series, breaking the previous record of Martin Guptill. Meanwhile he was awarded the 'Man of the Series'.^[19]

List of Centuries of Quinton De Kock

One Day International Centuries

S No	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	Against	Venue	Date	Result
1	112	135	9	1	Pakistan	Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE	8 November 2013	Won by 28 runs[20]
2	135	121	18	3	India	Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	5 December 2013	Won by 141 runs [21]
3	106	118	9	0	India	Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa	8 December 2013	Won by 134 runs[22]
4	101	120	9	2	India	SuperSport Park, Centurion, South Africa	11 December 2013	No Result (rain) [23]

Twenty20 Centuries

References

External links

• Player profile: Quinton de Kock from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Quinton de Kock from CricketArchive
• South Africa U-19 vs Bangladesh U-19
• South Africa U-19 vs Namibia U-19
• South Africa U-19 vs England U-19
• 3rd Place Play-off in U-19 World Cup
• Highveld Lions vs Mumbai Indians
• South Africa hammer woeful New Zealand