South African wicketkeeper-batsman, Quinton de Kock has been called up to the South African squad for the second Test against England to be held in Cape Town. Along with de Kock, South African fast bowler, Chris Morris has also been added to the squad to potentially replace the injured Dale Steyn.
De Kock's call-up probably means that AB de Villiers will not have to don the gloves in the second Test. Following South Africa's 241-run defeat in Durban, it would seem like the South African selectors want to add in some more batting prowess in de Kock in the batting lineup after a disappointing showing in the first Test.
The 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has been in good form with the bat in the domestic circuit which earned him a recall to the Test squad. De Kock scored a century in the most recently concluded round of the Sunfoil four-day matches. He had also scored a century for South Africa A against England in the visitors’ warm-up game in Pietermaritzburg.
De Kock last played a Test match in the tour of Bangladesh in July 2015. His batting average is only 33.00 and has scored only two fifties in the six Tests he has played for the national squad. De Kock has not been able to replicate his ODI form in the longer format where he has eight centuries and five half-centuries.
28-year-old Morris has not played for the national squad in the longest format, and will be making his debut if he is picked in the playing XI, although South Africa also have the option of young speedseter, Kagiso Rabada.
During the first Test, de Villiers dropped two catches in England's second innings. In a recent interview, de Villiers admitted to too much workload taking a toll on him and leading to speculations about his future.
South Africa coach, Russell Domingo and captain, Hashim Amla have stated that they will assess how de Villiers feels about keeping wickets and then decide on the possibility of bringing in de Kock.
“It still needs to be cleared with the selectors but we are looking at that route,” Domingo said.
“Having AB keep allows us to play an extra batter and he has said he will do it. We'll see how he feels at the end of today because he has had a heavy workload. Depending on how AB feels, we will decide on Quinton,” Amla said.
Domingo was disappointed with the Proteas' performance in the Durban Test, however, he was condident that his batting stalwarts will come back strongly and prove their critics wrong.
“When you have got players the calibre of Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, with proven records, performances under pressure, big hundreds when it counts, you know they are one or two innings away from a big score and you've got to keep believing in that,” Domingo said.
SA squad for second Test: Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers, Kyle Abbott, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl.
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