Quinton de Kock showed a lot of maturity as an all-formats player last summer and gave glimpses of what’s to come from him in the future, writes Ongama Gcwabe.

The 27-year-old had a fantastic 2019/20 season, accumulating 972 runs across all formats.

Often carrying an underperforming Proteas batting lineup throughout the season, De Kock reviewed his efforts in the past season as being “decent”.

“There was a time where I was starting to get grumpy when I wasn’t converting all my starts to big scores. Especially during the Test matches against England but I still don’t think it was bad.” De Kock insisted.

Like all elite sportsman, De Kock still sees an opportunity to improve and grow his game beyond what we have seen from him in his 7-year-long international career.

As a senior batsman, especially in Test cricket, De Kock recognizes the need to step up and score big hundreds for the team.

“I still want to get better. Obviously, get to start scoring big hundreds for the team. I think that’s the important thing I need to try get going now.” he added.

De Kock has come a long way after making his Test debut against a red-hot Australian side in 2014, to scoring a big hundred against India in India. 

That century alone tells a tale of a coming-of-age young wicket-keeper batsman who is probably at the peak of his career.

The next season will see him carry a lot of responsibility although he won’t be captain of the Test side.

But because he is a senior batsman who has just been promoted up the order, in what will be a more inexperienced squad with Faf du Plessis’ eminent retirement, he will be much more important in the Test team.

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