South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has announced his retirement from Test cricket. Cricket South Africa has said in its statement that De Kock, intends to spend more time with his family.
De Kock’s last Test was against India in Centurion, which ended in a victory for the visitors on Thursday. He scored 34 and 21 in the two innings in addition to taking seven catches in the match.
“This is not a decision that I have come to very easily. I have taken a lot of time to think about what my future looks like and what needs to take priority in my life now that Sasha and I are about to welcome our first child into this world and look to grow our family beyond that. My family is everything to me and I want to have the time and space to be able to be with them during this new and exciting chapter of our lives,” said De Kock, who also captained South Africa in four Test matches in the 2020/21 season.
He said that he intends to continue playing white-ball cricket for South Africa. “This is not the end of my career as a Protea, I’m fully committed to white-ball cricket and representing my country to the best of my ability for the foreseeable future. All the best to my teammates for the remainder of this Test series against India,” he said.
De Kock made his Test debut against Australia in Port Elizabeth in February 2014. Since then, he scored 3300 runs in 54 Test matches with six centuries and 22 half-centuries at an average of 38.82.
As a wicketkeeper, De Kock accounted for 232 dismissals, including 221 catches and 11 stumpings. De Kock has also taken the third-most catches in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship – 48 in 11 matches (47 catches and 1 stumping), and has a personal best of six dismissals in an innings, against England in Centurion in 2019.
De Kock was vice-captain to Faf du Plessis for a number of years and was expected to take over when the latter stepped down from the position in February 2020. While he led South Africa in four Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan between December 2020 and February 2021, De Kock said that he doesn’t intend to take up the position on a permanent basis and was eventually replaced by current incumbent Dean Elgar.
