Image Source- ICC
Watch Quinton de Kock’s response after scoring his
50-over World Cup tonne against Sri Lanka to see if he cares about ODI cricket.
The pull shot’s force is followed by the wide-legged stance’s fervour, a fist
pump, a raised bat, and a roar, then the melancholy of the gleam in the eye.
Was that a tear or sweat? Even while we may never fully understand, we do know
that 100 was significant.
De Kock’s previous ODI century occurred 20 months and
18 innings prior to South Africa’s tournament debut. He has since recorded
three fifty-scores, made it into double digits 13 times, struck his first T20I
century, joined leagues like the MLC and Big Bash, and declared his retirement
from the 50-over format. In the format in which he is by far the top run-scorer
of this generation of South Africans, this World Cup marks his final performance.
The next most in the team, David Miller, is more over 2,000 runs behind him
with 6276 ODI runs. De Kock will go down as one of South Africa’s most
illustrious white-ball cricketers, regardless of what else happens in this
World Cup.
Though the man himself thinks there is life in the
format, his departure might also add another question mark to the end of the
sentence on its future.
“I’m not going to speak on behalf of everyone.
For myself, I find it quite tiring, but I’m sure there’s still a lot of guys, a
lot of youngsters coming through from school, who would love to play this
format,” he said. “I highly recommend that they find a way to keep it
going, because there are a lot of guys with big ambitions who want this format
to carry on. I think they need to find a place and a time for it to
happen.”
Even as the allure of T20s rises, a 50-over World Cup
title remains the ultimate honour for de Kock and this generation. De Kock is
one of those individuals who, when given the option to go, chose to stay and
wait for success in ODIs. He cares about it, despite the fact that it is simple
and lazy to think he doesn’t given his typically glum demeanour and monotone,
occasionally monosyllabic responses to questions.
The fact that South Africa has yet to claim a World
Cup victory is the sole indicator of how good they genuinely are. They want to
change that since their most skilled players, like de Kock, might not be
playing in this format for very much longer. The team has always been filled
with quality. Does that give this campaign any further motivation? De Kock
lacked faith.
“I’m pretty much the same whether I’ve announced
that I’ve retired or not retired,” he said. “I don’t really know how
it happened. It was just a matter of working on one or two things and going out
there and getting it done.”
As simple as that.