'Quinton de Kock Will Go Down as One of the Legends in South Africa': Temba Bavuma

Quinton de Kock bows out of ODIs with South Africa losing to Australia by 3 wickets in the second semi-final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 on Thursday in Kolkata. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter opener had announced before the tournament that his campaign in India would be his last appearance for the Proteas in the format.

De Kock had a blast in the tournament, scoring 594 runs in ten innings at an average of 59.40, with only Virat Kohli scoring more runs than him. Across his 155 ODIs, the left-hander hit 6770 runs at an average of 45.74 and a strike rate of 96.64, setting the standard for South Africa and racking up 21 centuries. But unfortunately, his final appearance didn’t see the best of him out in the middle.

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His battling start came to an abrupt end when he tried to wrest back momentum and skied a catch off Josh Hazlewood to end his ODI career with three runs off 14 balls.

After the conclusion of the game, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma heaped massive praise on his outgoing teammate, stating that De Kock will go down as a legend in the history of South African cricket.

“He would have wanted to end things on a different note, but he’ll remember the type of innings and fight we showed as a team. Us as players, we’ve enjoyed playing with him through all the years. In South Africa he will go down as one of the legends of the game,” South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma said of De Kock after the semi-final loss to Australia.

Across his 155 ODIs, the left-hander hit 6770 runs at an average of 45.74 and a strike rate of 96.64, setting the standard for South Africa and racking up 21 centuries. However, his career is far from over, however, with a T20 World Cup on the horizon in 2024.

With 2277 runs in 79 innings at 32.52 and 137.33, De Kock is South Africa’s record scorer in the shortest format and could yet have the crowning moment that his career as one of the most impactful batters in the international game merits.