It’s the kind of mishap that sounds almost impossible. A cricketer turning up for an international match without a bat. Yet that was exactly the situation Quinton de Kock found himself in ahead of South Africa’s second T20I against West Indies in Centurion.
De Kock admitted he only realised the blunder moments before the team bus was due to leave the hotel in Johannesburg. With his equipment still at home in Knysna — nearly 1,000 kilometres away — panic briefly set in.
“I honestly don’t know how it happened,” De Kock said later. “I’ve had so many bags over the past year that I just went blank. When I realised, I felt a bit stupid and had to make a few quick phone calls before we left.”
Rested for the opening match of the series in Paarl, De Kock had unknowingly left his bats behind. With no time to retrieve them, he was forced to improvise.
Inside the dressing room, he scanned the kitbags of teammates Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton before pulling out a bat from Brevis’ collection. “I told him I was going to use it for the game,” De Kock said. “He said it was fine — and even joked that it was perfect for me because it was left-handed.”
Brevis’ sense of humour wasn’t lost on the senior batter. “Youngsters these days,” De Kock laughed. “He’s still convinced of that. But the bat did its job tonight.”
It certainly did. De Kock produced a blistering 115 off just 49 balls, with boundaries making up the bulk of his runs. His knock powered South Africa to a commanding chase of 222, sealing a seven-wicket victory with 15 balls remaining and clinching the series with a match to spare.
Despite the match-winning effort, De Kock was quick to return the borrowed bat. “It’s going back,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy the weight. It suits younger players who swing harder. It’s not for me.”
Unless, of course, his own bats fail to arrive in time for the next game at the Wanderers — in which case Brevis might once again be called upon.
Known for his elegant timing rather than brute force, De Kock’s innings was a reminder of his unique batting style. Remarkably, it was only his second T20I century in 100 innings, even though he has eight hundreds across formats in the shortest version.
He narrowly missed a T20I century during the recent SA20 season, despite finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer. Brevis, who finished second on the run charts, underlined his power-hitting credentials with a century of his own in the SA20 final.
While De Kock fell cheaply in that final, his team had the last laugh as Sunrisers Eastern Cape claimed their third title in four editions.
With the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India approaching, De Kock’s composure and Brevis’ explosiveness shape up as a dangerous combination for South Africa. Provided, of course, that both remember to pack their bats next time — or are willing to borrow one when it matters most.
