World Cup: South Africa will keep faith with Quinton de Kock, says AB de Villiers
In-form Proteas captain does not fancy donning the wicket-keeping gloves
Thursday 12 March 2015 15:02, UK
AB de Villiers says dropping Quinton de Kock will be a “last resort” for South Africa as he does not want to play as a wicketkeeper.
Current gloveman de Kock has scored just 53 runs across The Proteas’ six World Cup matches to date, handing the 22-year-old opener a paltry average of 8.83.
But De Villiers is reluctant to axe the left-hander, not only because he does not wish to move behind the stumps himself but also because he reckons de Kock could fire South Africa to a tournament victory.
“I don't want to keep,” said De Villiers, after scoring 99 in South Africa’s 146-run victory over UAE on Thursday. “It really puts a lot of pressure on me as a captain.
"I've got more time without the gloves in hand – I feel I can get to my bowlers and communication is much better – so it will be a last resort for us to move in that direction.
“There's no doubt in my mind that Quinton is a match winner and, as I’ve said before, he's going to play a big part in us winning this World Cup.
"I would hate to see him go; it's something that we will discuss moving forward but he's still my first pick for now.”
South Africa will head into their quarter-final, most probably against Sri Lanka, with four victories and two defeats from their Pool B campaign, having bested UAE, Zimbabwe, West Indies and Ireland and been conquered by Pakistan and India.
The Proteas’ losses both came when they batted second but middle-order man David Miller, a centurion in the triumph over Zimbabwe at the start of the tournament, says that fact is not playing on the side’s mind.
“We've performed chasing, so I don't think there's any areas where we need to improve,” added Miller, following his 49 against UAE in Wellington. "I think maybe just the execution [hasn’t been great], but nothing more than that.
“I think, here and now, the boys will be raring to go come that quarter-final and preparing really hard for it."
Watch each and every match of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup on Sky Sports’ dedicated channel.
