Quinton de Kock relishing ODI challenge from world champion England

Quinton de Kock begins life as South Africa’s ODI captain against the reigning world champions and is not phased by the magnitude of the challenge ahead.

The limited-overs leg of England’s tour to South Africa is already underway, and the tourists have a practice match under their belt ahead of the international series kicking off at Newlands on Tuesday.

Quinton de Kock excited by England series

The two sides had contrasting fortunes in the recent world cup in England, with the host nation going out to win the tournament, while the Proteas’ involvement ended in the first round.

While neither side has taken part in the 50-over tournament since the competition, there have been changes in either camp – particularly South Africa, who not only boast a new skipper, but a number of rookies in their squad as well.

De Kock is excited at the prospect of leading out the young squad.

“It’s an exciting group of youngsters that the selectors have picked and it’s a clear sign to everyone that if you put in the hard yards consistently enough, it will pay off eventually,” said de Kock.

“We’re excited to take on a team like England who have had a really good season. It’s a good way of measuring ourselves against the current ODI world champions and the right kind of challenge for everyone from the new guys to the senior players. It’s going be a good, quick and tough series and I’m looking forward to it.”

Quinton de Kock

In the 14-man squad named for the series, no less than five players are uncapped in the format.

This is after the retirements of the likes of Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, as well as the exclusions of regular skipper Faf du Plessis and bowling spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who have both been given a rest after a couple of taxing seasons.

Eyeing their ODI debuts are Bjorn Fortuin, Janneman Malan, Lutho Sipamla, Jon-Jon Smuts and Kyle Verreynne.

Another player, originally named in the squad is Warriors fast bowler Sisanda Magala, who enrolled in a high-performance camp with Smuts, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi, only to be deemed unfit.

Cricket South Africa’s director of cricket Graeme Smith is, however, confident that Magala will soon be back in the fold.

“I’m pleased that Lungi, Tabraiz and Jon-Jon have been declared fully fit to join the ODI squad and I’m confident that Sisanda will be in that circle soon enough. He has put in an immense amount of work over a short period of time and we want to ensure he has the tools to deal with the high demands of international cricket when the opportunity arises.”

Graeme Smith

Quinton de Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Janneman Malan, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Jon-Jon Smuts, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne.