CricketZA

  There has only been one man in major international cricket history to lead a side in all formats while keeping wicket for them for any serious length of time: Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But while Dhoni had a heavy load, one which he carried like a prized weightlifter, Quinton de Kock may have an even heavier cross to bear. de Kock is the best player on South Africa's national team. It honestly doesn't matter which format we are talking about, he reigns supreme in all formats. This gift is undoubtedly at least part of the reason he was selected as the captain of the national team in all three formats. But will it turn out to be a curse? To ask him to carry the load with the bat, as the lynchpin of a fragile batting line-up. Then in the field as both wicket-keeper and captain. Finally in the media, as the face of the team may be a bridge too far for a man whose last trip as the captain of a national team saw him clash with his under-19 coach, Ray Jennings, and eventually lose his jo...

With Graeme Smith formally announced as the permanent Cricket South Africa Director of Cricket, focus has shifted to the next most important role in the national set-up. Test captain. Smith indicated earlier today that Quinton de Kock would not be the Test captain, according to SA cricket Magazine . "It's not going to be Quinton," he said, citing De Kock's responsibility as the country's limited-overs captain as well as being wicketkeeper and a key batsman. "Quinton will be our white-ball captain but from a workload and mental capacity aspect we want to keep him fresh. From personal experience I know that captaining all three formats is challenging and we don't want to overburden him." In some respects this is an understandable move. As the wicket-keeper and de facto lynchpin of the batting line-up, one could argue, quite convincingly that de Kock is stretched as is, especially considering that he is the captain of the limited overs sides. ...

Barring any surprising revelations, Quinton de Kock is set to be - for the foreseeable future - South Africa's captain in all three formats. He is also set to remain the wicket keeper in all formats. If you wanted to add a bit more work to his load, he is also likely going to be South Africa's best batsman in all three formats. It was 21st century philosopher, Kanye West who once proclaimed that "No one man should have all this power", and boy oh boy does de Kock have a lot of power as of now. It could be argued that never before have the fortunes of the national team rested so much in the hands of one man. Sure, Graeme Smith was the captain of the side in all three formats, but he was never the best batsman in the team, nor did he have the most important fielding role in the team. The only man who has experienced this level of pressure for any extended period of time was Zimbabwean great, Andy Flower. While it could be argued that Flower's performances were ha...

Rassie van der Dussen and nightwatchman Anrich Nortje put a stop to any thoughts England had of a quick morning session with a dogged half-century partnership which  helped lift South Africa to 197/7, and the lead to over 300. The lead, which already appears insurmountable will likely balloon past 350 in the next session with the mood and form which Quinton de Kock is in. He is currently at the crease with Vernon Philander. de Kock has already taken a liking to Jofra Archer's pace bowling dispatching him for three sixes and a four. The English will be hoping for a miracle on a ground which  has never seen 300 chased, and has only seen 200 scored by the side batting last once in  the last 10 years.

For all the talk of the changes which were being introduced to the South African cricket team, Day One of the domestic summer revealed the same problems. Joe Root won the toss, and inexplicably decided to bowl first on a deck which has a reputation for being incredibly up and down towards the end of the game. When you opt to bat last in Centurion, you really do basically have to roll the opposing team, and set yourself up to either bat only once, or only chase like 100 to win on the final day. With South Africa already on 278/9, chances are pretty high that this will not be a situation where England will only bat once. From that perspective, you could argue that honours were even on day on. Add in that England won the toss, and you could say that South Africa won the day. With that said, however, it did seem like much of the same problems remained. South Africa, who it must be remembered are in the middle of a five-game losing streak, showed many of the same batting frailties which...

The second season of the Mzansi Super League is upon us, amid an ongoing crisis regarding payments from last season. Broadcasting the matches on SABC instead of Supersport was not Cricket South Africa’s first choice, but it has worked out well for the fans. Many people tuned in last year and the same is expected this season. With the World T20 in Australia just under a year away, the local players will be looking to make an impact. Rassie van der Dussen, for example, had a great season last time that saw him receive a call up to the one-day side, where he has performed well. Cape Town Blitz The Blitz reached the final last season but were beaten by van der Dussen’s Jozi Stars. Quinton de Kock finished as their highest run-scorer and was second on the list overall. He finished with 412 runs, averaging 58.85 at an incredible strike-rate of 169.54. He has had some captaincy opportunities with the Proteas lately and was named as the captain for the Blitz earlier this week. He ...

South Africa ended the third day of their first Test vs India 385/8, still 117 runs behind India's first innings total of 502/7. The stars of the day were undoubtedly Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock, with both batsmen reaching hundreds. Following the nightmare that was the 2015 Test series in India, you could have been forgiven for expecting the worst when The Proteas came out to bat. You could also have been forgiven for assuming that the worst had come to pass when the Proteas ended day two on 39/3, a harrowing reminder of the last time the boys were in India. But today went against script. Led first by Dean Elgar, the Proteas showed a value for their wickets which should stand them in good stead. It's almost a cliche to call Dean Elgar a nuggety cricketer. He values his wicket, is willing to put his body on the line during his innings, is the first to arrive at the gym and the last to leave, etc etc. The real star of the show though, entertainment wise at least, was Quin...

Quinton de Kock is good at cricket. Everyone who plays cricket at an international level is good at cricket, but even in that hallowed territory, one can see that Quinton de Kock is exceptionally good at cricket. He boasts no obvious weakness, and there are very few good balls which he can't turn into boundary balls. He also happens to be, both on form and reputation, South Africa's best batsman, especially now that the great Hashim Amla has retired. This presents a quandary of sorts, because while de Kock's prodigious ability to take a game away from the opposition batting at 7 is not in question, the reality is more often than not, he has had to come in and repair some very creaky holes in the ship. In the history of cricket, only one team has ever had their best batsman keep wicket. Andy Flower, the Zimabwean great, was the only man who managed this feat of endurance and focus. You could arguably place AB de Villiers on this shortlist, but he only kept for 23 Tests an...