Former Proteas coach Eric Simons says South Africa’s hopes of a maiden T20 World Cup title rest mainly on the shoulders of Quinton de Kock.
The opening batsman had disappointed in T20I cricket this year, scoring just 68 runs in eight innings, before finding form in the recent series against India. He hit 69* off 48 balls in the second match and 68 off 43 in the third.
With Proteas captain Temba Bavuma failing to fire at the other end, the pressure is on De Kock to deliver Down Under.
“What the Proteas need is a De Kock who can be as explosive as [England’s] Jos Buttler,” Simons told Rapport newspaper. “De Kock holds the key for South Africa. When he’s on the move, he’s intimidating.
“Australian conditions require a double adjustment,” Simons added. “You need to be able to bowl more accurate strike balls in the death overs than in subcontinent conditions. And your batsmen need to be able to find the gaps in the inner ring more, instead of just focusing on boundary options like on the smaller pitches in India.
“We know De Kock can manipulate the gaps in the inner ring like few others. He can either find the boundary rope, or the gaps.
“And there are also other SA batsmen who can manipulate the gaps and not rely so much on just boundary options, such as Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram,” Simons added.
“South Africa’s best finisher, David Miller, relies heavily on boundary options, and the conditions Down Under may therefore require a greater adjustment from him.
“In Australia, you need a different game plan with the bat than just trying to bomb the boundary, because the boundary ropes are further than on the Asian fields.”
The Proteas will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against a qualifying team in Hobart on 24 October, followed by matches against Bangladesh (27 October, Sydney), India (30 October, Perth), Pakistan (3 November, Sydney) and another qualifying team (6 November, Adelaide).
