Quinton de Kock plays for Sunrisers and is part of a bigger picture
Quinton de Kock takes a seat in the interview chair.
There’s giggling and some silliness coming from the next room where his fellow Sunrisers Eastern Cape teammates are undertaking a Betway SA20 photo shoot.
They are the King brothers, CJ and JP, who both subsequently made their first-class debuts The cook had already retired from Test cricket.
De Kock shouts at them. “Ssshh, keep it down there!”
He looks at the interviewer and shrugs. “These young people of today…”
It is almost unthinkable to hear De Kock talk this way, because he had almost always been the youngest in every team he played in. And even when he wasn’t anymore, his boyish babyface look meant he never looked older than 21.
But De Kock is now a veteran. In fact, he has been around for so long that he has been able to retire from international cricket and then come back again. And all this after only recently celebrating his 33rd birthday.
Perhaps it is the fact that he is the father of four-year-old Kiara that has brought out these fatherly skills, but De Kock certainly sees himself as a father figure to Sunrisers’ rookie captain Tristan Stubbs in particular.
“Obviously there are some young people around, the skipper (Stubbs) himself is still a youngster, and having been a young skipper myself, I think he will need that kind of experience to get him through the season,” De Kock said.
Stubbs certainly appreciated De Kock sharing his wisdom, both on and off the pitch, in the Sunrisers’ first two games.
“He’s been so good,” Stubbs said. “I think we have a direct line of communication between all the players to make sure we are thinking the same way. He has invested a lot in team discussions before games and has prepared well.”
But even at this advanced stage of his career, it was De Kock who was looking for his own guidance.
Prior to his shock international retirement reversal in September this year, he was aimlessly wandering around the global T20 circuit. Going from one franchise team to another and playing in a different league every month.
He longed for stability, to be part of something bigger than himself, and most of all, to be surrounded by people he trusted.
So when the Sunrisers, coached by his former Proteas mentors Adrian Birrell and Russell Domingo, snapped up the left-hander during the Season 4 player auction, it was a match made in Heaven.
“Obviously my relationship with Adi and Russ comes from the Proteas days. I think me and Birrell were even before the Proteas days, probably the school cricket days,” he said.
“I think playing for them is a bigger picture, you know, it’s always fun to play for guys that you like and love.
“Your heart is different in how you want to play a season. So me being here and playing for them is probably exactly what I need and what I want.”
The results were excellent, with De Kock topping the Betway SA20 scoring charts after two matches with 119 runs at an average of 59.50 and a strike rate of 167.60, guiding the Sunrisers to two consecutive bonus point wins – the best ever start to the competition for the two-time champions.
In typical De Kock fashion, however, he doesn’t think about it too much and prefers to stay in the moment.
“It’s not really about form and it’s not about confidence or being unconfident. It’s about ultimately trying to score points for the team because I’m quite open-minded. Whether you’re confident or not, things can change,” he said.
“I’ve played this game too long, where I know things can change in an instant, quickly for you. If you get too confident, Mother Cricket has a way of bringing you back down to earth.
“So it’s not about form, it’s about staying mentally ready and just understanding the game, that’s all.”
De Kock has found favor in orange, from the fans, to his fellow players and with his performances on the field
The ‘Orange Army’ at St George’s Park certainly quickly warmed up to the dashing left-hander, cheering all his 77 runs on his home debut on Monday, as the brass band played their famous tune: ‘De Kock, you hottie” as he went past his half-century.
“It was nice. I loved playing Test matches here. They were always great. I’ve played some great games here,” he said.
“So when I came here with my previous team for the SA20, it was quite depressing. They’re just going against me now. It feels wrong. I thought I was in their team.”
“But now it’s nice to be back here with the Sunrisers and have them by my side again. And that amount of support. It’s an eye-opener for myself. When I come here, guys come to watch the warm-up games.”
De Kock hopes to get the celebrations going again when the Sunrisers host the Paarl Royals at St George’s Park on Wednesday in the much-anticipated New Year’s Eve clash.
Content Contributed by SA20
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