OPINION: 'Do we need to talk about Quinton?'

Temba Bavuma’s return to the South African white-ball team on their tour of India led directly to the benching of Reeza Hendricks despite scoring two 50s, two 70s and a 42 in his last five T20 International innings on the recent tour of England. That talking point may have been a distraction from a more pressing topic of conversation.

Most international teams have at least one player in the ‘undroppable’ category, a cricketer who has ‘earned the right’ to an automatic place on the team sheet through years of consistent performances or because they have the ability to, and do, win matches on a regular basis.

If and when the time does come for such players to step aside, they are more likely to be ‘rested’ rather than dropped and many a ‘niggle’ has been picked up by senior players enduring an extended patch of poor form. They are rarely dropped. Sometimes they even retire, as Australian captain Aaron Finch recently did from the ODI format.

India were never going to drop Virat Kohli during the last 18 months of patchy form. He wasn’t worth his place in the team, but he was still Virat Kohli. He was rested for various matches and series, but never dropped. Officially. And now, finally, he appears to be regaining some better form, if not his best.

South Africa have a similar issue with Quinton de Kock who, from the start of the last year’s T20 World Cup, has scored just 137 runs in his last dozen innings with a highest score of 34 and six single-figure scores for an average of 11.4 and a strike rate of 101. His career average is 30.5 a strike rate of 133.

UNQUALIFIED SUPPORT

As India did with Kohli, the Proteas management is showing no signs of ‘intervening’ in De Kock’s career. Quite the opposite. He is receiving unqualified support from those who select the team and still enjoys the confidence and faith of his teammates. ‘It’s only a matter of time,’ they say. ‘He’s just one innings away from being the old Quinny.’ They are almost certainly right. He is, after all, still only 29 years old.

But a year is a long time to endure such a barren run and there are signs it may be getting to him. Opening batters rarely get away with being tentative at any level of T20 cricket but uncertainty and doubt are ruthlessly exposed at international level.

There is, of course, an unfortunate precedent regarding De Kock at a World Cup – although it was through no fault of his own. Having been injured shortly before the 2015 World Cup in Australasia, the ‘keeper/batter was deemed so important to the Proteas’ chances of success that he was rushed back with neither fitness nor form in his favour.

He struggled to scores of 7, 7, 12, 1, 0 and 26 in the group games before finally flourishing with an unbeaten 78* in a pressure-free quarterfinal victory against Sri Lanka. He made 14 in the semifinal defeat to New Zealand.

As always with De Kock, the geographical question applies: ‘Where is he ‘at’? Not at the crease, but with his enjoyment of the game. There have been times during his career when he would happily go fishing or walk his dogs than play cricket.

Fortunately, this does not appear to be one of those times. The support and backing De Kock is currently enjoying appears to be the right course of action. But his output should not become an elephant in the room and nobody should be afraid to alter course if necessary.