Quinton de Kock has nothing left to prove. That he belongs at the highest level, is now sure. His 11 ODI hundreds compiled in just 67 innings makes him the latter-day Adam Gilchrist, if not better.Just to put De Kock's explosive short-format impact in perspective, the game-changing Australian opener/wicketkeeper made 16 centuries in 287 ODI innings.In his first 67 innings, Gilchrist scored only five hundreds, with his first, an even 100 in a chase that drew Australia level in the best-of-three 1997-98 World Series finals against South Africa.This is where the newly married 23-year-old Ford Mustang owner steps in, with his run production starting to match his American muscle car in terms of acceleration.According to espncricinfo, De Kock has racked up 577 runs at 82.42 this year with three hundreds and the 49-ball 70 on Wednesday at Kingsmead that laid the platform for David Miller's stunning late-order assault. When batting first in chases, he has only collected 250 runs at 35 with no hundreds this year.This conversion rate has not escaped Herschelle Gibbs's attention, who was on hand to watch De Kock eclipse his epochal 175 at the Wanderers in the "438 game" with 178 at SuperSport Park last week.Gibbs reckons De Kock's value to the ODI side is starting to supersede that of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers.There is also the lack of fear that makes De Kock a dangerous customer on any surface and occasion."With the ages of Hash and AB advancing, I don't think they will be the batting forces they are now in the next World Cup, let alone be there. They are on the wrong side of 30 and as far as the ODI top six is concerned, he is the main priority and he's going to be the man who has to lead the top six in the years to come. At this stage, he's more important than AB and Hash," Gibbs said."The less Quinton thinks about batting, the better it is for him. He's quite similar to me because he's a free spirit and he could be his own worst enemy. He also doesn't have the fear of failure because that's something you're born with. It's either you have the fear of failure or you don't."I've seen great players succumb to fear of failure because they're too scared to fail, but De Kock doesn't fall in that department. That lack of fear makes Quinton a far better player for the big occasion because he seems to be made for it."When De Kock did not fire at the 2015 Cricket World Cup, it had a knock-on effect on the middle-order as runs had to be found elsewhere.Glimpses of his ruthless approach to chases were seen in the quarterfinal against Sri Lanka in Sydney when he drilled an effortless 57-ball 78 to take care of any nerves that may have fluttered because of South Africa's choking past.That is a tag that will only be removed when South Africa finally win an International Cricket Council title again.The next one on the horizon is next year's Champions Trophy in England, a tournament South Africa won in 1998 when De Kock was a year away from starting school.De Kock was also an observer during the failed 2013 expedition when South Africa struggled to find an all-weather opener.He will be expected to make up for his World Cup failure even though it was clear he was struggling from the ankle ligament injury he suffered during the West Indies tour in 2014.Gibbs is a reference for excellent ICC tournament performances while the rest of the team failed to swim.While he is impressed by De Kock's newly found chasing prowess, Gibbs said De Kock would have to deliver on the ICC stage in the same way Gilchrist did for Australia."The Champions Trophy is not just important for Quinton, it's important for everyone with the past South Africa has at ICC tournaments. There was a start with the World Cup quarterfinal, but the 'chokers' term will always come up. I understand the need to win a tournament and until such time it's won, the questions and the tag will always be there."That's where Quinton's BMT [big match temperament] and ability to deal with pressure will come in," Gibbs said."The bowling attacks in the past seven to eight years are not what they used to be but Gilly was a special player. But there's nothing to say that Quinton cannot achieve those heights. It goes without saying Gilly won three consecutive World Cups and was the man-of-the-match in his final one."That doesn't mean De Kock can't scale those heights. He has the temperament and the ability to do so."sports@timesmedia.co.za..