Quinton de Kock has been named South Africa’s new One Day International captain for the upcoming three-match home ODI series against England, where the former captain Faf du Plessis has not been included. Faf du Plessis, 35, has played 143 ODIs and smashed 5507 runs at an average of 47.47. He was successful as captain, leading South Africa to 28 wins in 39 matches. He averaged 57.62 as captain also.
However, South Africa had a poor World Cup under du Plessis’leadership, winning only three of their nine matches and failed to reach the semifinal. Quinton de Kock, 27, has played 115 ODIs so far and scored 4907 runs at 45.01. He led South Africa in the T20I series against India.
South Africa also handed over maiden ODI call-ups to five players: Lutho Sipamla (pacer), Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper), Sisanda Magala (pacer), Janneman Malan (batsman) and Bjorn Fortuin (spin-bowling all-rounder). Lungi Ngidi, who missed the Tests against England with a hamstring injury, has been recalled alongside Temba Bavuma.
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“We all know the quality of the player that Quinton de Kock has grown to become,” Graeme Smith, the CSA Acting Director of Cricket said.
“Over the years, we have watched him grow in confidence and become one of the top ODI wicket-keeper batsmen in the world. He has a unique outlook and manner in which he goes about his business and is tactically very street smart. We are confident that the new leadership role will bring out the best in him as a cricketer and that he can take the team forward into the future and produce results that South Africans the world over can be very proud of. We wish him the very best in this new role and look forward to watching him make his mark in this series against the World Cup Champions,” he added.
Linda Zondi, the chief selector, added: “We are really pleased with the squad we have selected, it is a good indication of the depth that we have in the country. The road towards the 2023 Cricket World Cup starts now and we want players doing well in our domestic structures to see the rewards of the hard work that they have put in. The pool that we build going forward is going to be vital in the selection of that 2023 World Cup squad but also without looking too far ahead, we are confident that we have players that will make South Africa proud in this ODI series against a confident England team.”
South Africa squad: Quinton de Kock (c), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jon Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne
