How Quinton de Kock is making up for his century drought in World Cups this edition | Cricket-world-cup News

Even on the brink of his fourth hundred of the World Cup, Quinton de Kock looked to be giving up. A mixup with Rassie van der Dussen where he was sent back from halfway down the pitch saw him slow down his strides and walk back the rest of the way in his early 90s. Mercifully, Mitchell Santner’s throw missed, and the corner of de Kock’s eye would’ve seen the ball overshoot and whiz past. Not one to let second chances go waste, he would pounce on the next one Jimmy Neesham bowled on his hips for a blitzing pick-up shot that he sent all the way over fine leg to reach his 100 with a six.De Kock would add a couple of boundaries more. Standing tall and smacking Tim Southee down the ground straight, he had shifted in the crease to make room as soon as he saw the cutter. He would even slash at Trent Boult’s straying yorker for his 10th boundary, before Glenn Phillips pouched him off Southee’s bowling, sending him back for 114 off 116.
You can try your hand at solving our Cricket World Cup crossword
He would later say he had felt scratchy in the early part of the innings especially with Boult’s cramping length. But the messages coming in from the dressing room asked him to bat through. It would’ve counted as a vote of massive confidence, knowing well that a bomb middle order, this tournament’s designated dynamites, sat in the hut revving up to explode any moment they were summoned. But each time South Africa carted out two chairs and a giant umbrella in the drinks break for their batters Rassie and Quinny to sit down and rest up, de Kock knew they wanted him to go the dance.
Having announced his ODI retirement ahead of the World Cup, de Kock would add he was trying not to give it away, even while knowing this was the best he had been batting. South Africa would get to 357, with Rassie going on to accelerate for a 118-ball 133 and David Miller (53 off 30) cranking up the backend of the innings. But it was de Kock’s chancy innings where the juice of talent simply oozed out of every cranny, despite the maze of walls all around.
One reason speculated for de Kock’s retirement is that for a laidback bloke such as him, the marauding mileage and grind and attendant pressure of continuing as the anchor in one-dayers is too much. He digs his fishing and the quieter life and T20 franchise-cricket with a Big bash signup where he’s in incredible demand, whets his cricketing appetite. He almost said, that he was sure there were plenty of young cricketers who might still like one day cricket, but he found it tiring. Yet, here he was.
Sweet swan-song
For a man who didn’t have a single World Cup century from 17 innings, he’s giving his swansong one good gobsmacking go. The focus has been impressive – be it out of seeing this as the last chance to make an impression, or from sheer relief that it’s the last time he has to shoulder the almighty burden that is South African batting. He now has four centuries, the most in a World Cup for Saffers, and second only to Rohit Sharma’s five.
Quinton de Kock in action during his knock against New Zealand on Wednesday in Pune. (Express photo Daniel Stephen)
His love-hate relationship with cricket, a game he is mighty good at and that he chose over baseball, might just skew towards love tonight. Though he might wake up clucking and bored of it tomorrow morning. And proceed to score a fifth century the day after.
He refused to take the knee once for Black Lives Matter and copped unpopularity that’s never abetted. His captain, Bavuma, got the team to rally around the generational talent, shielding him from a hostile fallout, giving him the freedom to stick to his conviction, however politically insensitive it was. This South African team refused to jettison him and he shares some great camaraderie with his teammates. This World Cup, he’s repaying the trust. Yet, the Pune innings against New Zealand stuttered awhile.
Life, luck
On 13, Glenn Phillips dropped a tough one at backward point as de Kock whacked at Southee in the 10th over. Santner fell just short of getting him caught and bowled. There was even a mandatory concussion check as the ball grazed his helmet. His many lives continued, when Will Young claimed a catch at backward point when de Kock was on 54, but replays showed the ball had bumped off the ground. Destiny wanted him to carry on for one more time. He shrugged, but turned up.

It was Bavuma who actually started the bashing to the boundaries, when he picked on Matt Henry early on. Henry was driven through covers, carved over the ropes playing inside out, and wrily clipped off the pads Bavuma. De Kock after being cramped in-curlers from Boult, opened the bat face to drive him square past point to get going.
De Kock would pull a short one from Southee taking care to keep it down, and emboldened, free his arms for a maximum the next ball. Southee pitched it further around off and de Kock swung with all his might through the line to dispatch it to the long on fence.
He would bring on the 50 partnership with Rassie, picking a Santner flighted straight one to lift it over the bowler’s head and though the parabola wasn’t elevated, it went all the way beyond the fence. De Kock would reach his own 50 reverse sweeping Rachin Ravindra too far for deep point. De Kock, who had picked on spinners in his 431 runs before this inning in this World Cup, wouldn’t spare Glenn Phillips’ slow offspin. Though the pugnacious bowler tried to cramp him, de Kock would show deft hands to flick him over mid wicket for another four.Most Read
1
Cricket World Cup: Why India is not in the semifinals yet despite winning six out of six games

2
President terminates services of Army Major posted with Strategic Forces Command unit

See More

Follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup 2023 on our special World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top scorer and the highest wicket-taker of the current edition, upcoming World Cup fixtures and the points table on the site.
To Southee, he shuffled and even the mimed glance went to the fine leg fence. What de Kock did brilliantly on the day was stay in the hunt with quiet singles, and looking for boundary deliveries every over after Matt Henry went off and Boult bided his time. New Zealand were without their enforcer in mid overs, Lockie Ferguson, and his scorching pace. And de Kock made the most of it.

He would show twinkling improvisations, reverse dabbing Santner’s quickish delivery, and get his front foot out of the way, to blast Neesham over long-on. Rassie would take off from where de Kock left, going after Neesham. Rassie’s last 33 runs came off 18 balls, with two sixes over long on and one past long off to wreck Neesham’s bowling arc and figures as he finished with 133. The staggered pace comes easy to Rassie, but it was Quinton de Kock, who gritted it out, and stayed put, not giving in to form the bedrock of the 350 total. He might look like a reluctant starter in one dayers, but has actually morphed into a rambunctious run machine and century maker just like that.