Off-field issues said to have contributed to De Kock’s shock retirement

On Thursday night, just hours after featuring for the Proteas on the final day of the first Test against India, De Kock made the shock announcement that he had retired from Test cricket at the age of 29.

De Kock has cited his intentions to spend more time with his growing family for the timing and reason for his relatively early retirement from the format. He and his wife, Sasha, are anticipating the imminent birth of their first-born child in the coming days.

READ | WHO IS QUINTON DE KOCK? 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE PROTEAS STAR

De Kock will still be available for limited-overs cricket

He played 54 Tests for the Proteas, scoring 3 300 runs with a highest score of 141 not-out, at an average of 38.82 and strike rate of 70.93. He also has six centuries and 22 half-centuries under his belt.

Those 54 Tests place De Kock 20th in the all-time list of Tests played for South Africa and he was the second-most capped player in the current set-up (behind Dean Elgar with 70).

READ | QUINTON DE KOCK: HIS FULL RETIREMENT STATEMENT

In a comprehensive report in Sunday newspaper Rapport, further details have been provided into other factors that could have influenced De Kock’s decision.

There have been heated meetings between players & the board. One of the first incidents that caused dismay in the team, was when the board spoke about potential issues with the team culture in a press release after Enoch Nkwe resigned, but didn't speak to the team about it first.

— Tinus van Staden (@TinusvS4) January 2, 2022

"What I can say, is that there's now more engagement between the board and the team than there have been with any other board since 1991," says Naidoo.
"We have an open door policy, the players can phone me at any time. We created communication channels with the 2 captains."

— Tinus van Staden (@TinusvS4) January 2, 2022

Bavuma and his teammates recently found themselves in a challenging position when Cricket South Africa issued a directive that all players must take the knee in solidarity with the BLM movement at the T20 World Cup.

The directive was communicated on the eve of the Proteas’ second T20 World Cup game, and led to De Kock withdrawing from that match against the West Indies.

READ | ‘I CANNOT SHED MY SKIN’ – POMMIE MBANGWA’S MESSAGE TO QUINTON DE KOCK

Bavuma handled the matter gracefully as the leader of the South African team, but in an interview with Cricinfo, he admitted the pressure that mounted on the Proteas to take a knee is “sometimes a bit unfair”.

“The important thing for me is, how does this translate into our everyday life,” Bavuma said. “That for me is the cream on top. We can all go out there, raise our fists, go on the knee, but if deep down in the heart, you’re not really for the cause, and what it stands for, and it doesn’t show in your everyday behaviour then I guess it brings into question the authenticity of it all.”

“As a South African cricket side, we have been put under immense pressure around this whole topic, more than any other international teams, more than any of our other local teams, for whatever reason that may be. I think that the work and the effort that has gone behind the scenes does not get enough attention or acknowledgement probably because of the fact that people from the outside don’t get to see or hear the conversations that we have. Sometimes the pressure that is mounted on us is a bit unfair.

“Going forward, a decision is going to have to be a collective one. That’s an important thing. We want to avoid a situation where things are being dictated or instructed towards players. Importantly, how does it show in our everyday behaviour? Not just in our Proteas team, but within the country as a whole. Our country has big big big problems and that’s where the energy, in my opinion, should really be spent.”

REVIEW: HOW PROTEAS PLAYERS PERFORMED – DE KOCK AND SHAMSI