"Get him off" - Dale Steyn livid with South Africa letting Quinton de Kock bat on against New Zealand during 2023 World Cup warm-up game
Former South African speedster Dale Steyn was a bit baffled to see Quinton de Kock continuing to bat well after reaching his half-century against New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup warm-up game in Thiruvananthapuram.
Steyn seemed to be disappointed because the warm-up game was a good chance to see how the Proteas' lower middle order would do against a quality New Zealand attack in a game that was going to have an interesting finish.
Here's what Dale Steyn posted on X about Quinton de Kock:
"Umm, why is QDK still batting??? Warm up game, get him off"
It didn't matter much, as just minutes after Steyn's post, rain coincidentally began to absolutely pelt down in Thiruvananthapuram and no further play was possible. The Kiwis ended up winning the game by seven runs due to DLS method, with South Africa finishing at 211/4 after 37 overs.
"I'll give the World Cup my best shot" - Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock has already confirmed that he will be retiring from ODI cricket after the end of the upcoming World Cup in India. The explosive Proteas batter is likely to prefer playing in lucrative T20 leagues around the world.
However, he has vowed that he would give his best to help the Proteas end that World Cup jinx this year. Here's what he was quoted as saying by SA Cric Mag:
"I’ve played a lot of cricket already. I’ll give the World Cup my best shot. I would like to tick off an ICC event. I don’t see myself being involved in the game in any way when I stop playing. I want a life after cricket."
De Kock (84*) and Rassie van der Dussen (51) had a decent hit-out in the middle against New Zealand. They kick off their World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka in Delhi on October 7, 2023.