Quinton de Kock uses Brevis’s bat to break West Indies hearts

Quinton de Kock has no interest in continuing to use Dewald Brevis’s bat and had already given it back to him after striking 115 sumptuous runs with it on Thursday night.

“To be honest I didn’t really enjoy it, the weight was out of place for me, it’s for the youngsters who swing hard. I won’t be having it back,” said De Kock.

De Kock had forgotten his bats somewhere — Gqeberha or Cape Town after the SA20 — and with all the bags cricketers take around with them nowadays, only noticed their absence shortly before the team bus left the hotel on Thursday afternoon.

It was arguably even more embarrassing than in 2016, when he slipped on a rock while walking his dog on the morning of a Test match, and thus missed the game. At least then the dog was partly to blame.

“I felt a bit stupid when I noticed. I went a bit white when I realised [the bats were missing],” he said.

There followed a frantic inquiry to teammates Brevis and Ryan Rickleton, who share the same bat sponsor, before he settled on one from Brevis’s bag. “He said it was a good bat because it was a left-hander’s bat — I was like, wow, youngsters these days. He’s still adamant, but it served me well tonight.”

It certainly didn’t look out of place in De Kock’s hands. Six fours and 10 sixes flowed from it, helping SA to comfortably chase down what looked a challenging target of 222 set by the West Indies. In addition to not liking the bat, De Kock also claimed it wasn’t one of his best innings — despite it being a career-high T20 International score for him — because it was too easy.

“I prefer working hard for my runs, being street smart. I think tonight the wicket was that good; you could just bat. I really enjoyed my innings, we won the game, but in T20 cricket and in ODIs I’ve worked harder for runs, which gives me a lot more satisfaction,” said De Kock.

Overall it continues what has been an excellent few months for the 33-year-old, whose decision to rescind his international retirement appears to have been a good one. He’s made ODI hundreds, now has a T20 century, and was named player of the tournament as part of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s thunderous journey to a third SA20 title.

“I just go through my processes, whether I’m doing well or not, it’s pretty much been the same process for years,” he said.

Despite conceding 221 on Thursday night at SuperSport Park, De Kock felt that on such a batting-friendly surface, the Proteas bowlers did well to keep the tourists to less than 240. “We were staring at that [kind of total] at halfway, but the guys brought it back really well after the 10th over.”

Keshav Maharaj was primarily responsible for building the pressure in that period, finishing with 2/22 from four overs. “Kesh was exceptional, a spinner at Centurion never goes for five an over.”

The final match of the series — which will celebrate CSA’s cancer-fighting initiatives — will be played at the Wanderers on Saturday.

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