De Kock smashes career-best 115 with Brevis' bat but 'won't be having it back'

Quinton de Kock realised half-an-hour before the team bus was leaving for SuperSport Park that he had left an essential item behind when he travelled up to the Highveld: his bats.

"I felt a bit stupid when I noticed earlier," he said after the second T20I against West Indies, which South Africa won to take the series. "I've got some new bags over the last year, so I was going through all bits and bobs, and I just went blank. I don't know, I forgot. I went a bit white when I realised I had to make one or two phone calls half-an-hour before the bus was leaving [to try and get them back]."

Naturally, the bats, at least a two-hour flight away on the coast, did not arrive in time. So de Kock had to make do with someone else's and, as a senior in the side, he allowed himself the luxury of choice. "Before I got into the change room, I went looking around between [Dewald] Brevi[s] and Ricks [Ryan Rickelton] and I just pulled one out of Brevi's bag," he said. "I said, 'I'm just going to use this one today'. Brevi said, 'It's fine, it's a good bat for you because it's a left-handed bat'. And I was like, 'Wow! Youngsters these days!'"

Bats, unlike golf clubs, for example, are not typically designed for hand preference and even if they were, Brevis is a right-hand batter. But "he's adamant about it," de Kock joked. "And it did its service tonight."

With Brevis' bat, de Kock struck six fours and ten sixes to score his second T20I century and a career-best 115 in the format to continue his form from the SA20, where he was the top run-scorer.

Given how well the bat served him, did de Kock intend to keep it? "If my bats come before the next game, I will be using my own bats so no, that bat is going back to Brevis," he said. "To be honest, I didn't really enjoy it. The weight was out of place for me. It's for youngsters who swing hard. So I won't be having it back at any time."

Brevis, using his own bats, was barely needed after de Kock and Rickelton shared a second-wicket stand of 162 to all but chase down the target of 222. Brevis went out at No. 4 and holed out to long-on for four, leaving it to Rickelton and Jason Smith to take South Africa to their third-highest chase at SuperSport Park. They also hold the record of 259, also against West Indies, and believe more is gettable on a good batting track. "We've done it a couple of times on this ground, so that's the confidence that you have, knowing that most totals on a good wicket do get chased down," de Kock said. "It's just a matter of applying yourself and going through the process. That was pretty much it. Over the years of doing it here, I specifically just had the confidence of just going about our business."

De Kock felt that, despite the achievement of reaching his highest score, and becoming South Africa's highest run-scorer in T20s, he wasn't particularly challenged by conditions, no matter whose bat he had in hand.

"The wicket was very good and we played accordingly. It was really nice," he said. "I'm one of those guys that prefer really working hard on hard batting wickets, working hard from being really clever, being street smart, Tonight the wicket was that good you can just bat. I really enjoyed my innings. It was great and we won the game. But to be honest, in T20 cricket, I've worked harder for my runs, which gives me a lot more satisfaction."