Quinton de Kock has insisted he is not very particular about the bat he uses to successfully combat opposition bowling attacks around the world.
De Kock has scored two fine half-centuries in the ongoing Test series against England – and boasts a healthy average of 49.03 in the longest format of the international game.
He is also the proud recipient of a dozen tons in ODI competition, five of which have been scored against India. He boasts two each against Australia, England and Sri Lanka – and one against Pakistan. He has not scored a century in ODI cricket against Bangladesh, Ireland, New Zealand, West Indies or Zimbabwe.
The hard-hitting left-hander, in fact, struck three consecutive tons against the Indians in December 2013. What a swashbuckling 135 in Johannesburg started, a brisk 106 in Durban continued – and an entertaining 101 in Centurion completed.
‘I’m not really one to be bothered about it. I take the bats that I have. If I need to fix it to my personal comfort I will do that. Otherwise, I am not picky at all. I take the bat that’s been given to me and that’s what it is,” the 24-year-old told ESPNcricinfo during a recent visit to a bat-making company in England.
‘When I started playing professionally, I didn’t used to look after my bats as much. I went through eight or ten a year but I am slowly getting better. Last year I used six or seven and I am on my third this year. I try to keep it to as few as I can.
‘I have a theory that if I look after my sponsor, they will look after me. With pads, I try and use one set of pads through as many years as I can, even though I know they always want me to use the new shapes and colours. I try and do what I can to look after the bats, especially.
‘The only thing I believe in is oil. I believe that makes the bat better. I am not worried about grains or different kinds of wood – wood’s wood. I think the oil makes it last longer and just makes it better.’
De Kock is also a famed Indian Premier League cricketer, having represented the Delhi Daredevis and Sunrisers Hyderdabad.
