2013 in review: New kids on the block

1. Quinton De Kock

Quinton de Kock

ODIs – 16, Runs – 741, Average – 46.31, Strike rate – 86.56, Centuries – 4, High score – 135

It’s not often that a country discovers a worthy successor to a legend. But then again, South African cricket seems to have been blessed with unnatural dollops of luck. The more that the world sees of Quinton de Kock, the more the world is convinced about his capacity to replace Mark Boucher and become a permanent solution to South Africa’s keeper-batsman problems – AB De Villiers, after all, is a batsman first and a part time keeper later.

The twenty one year old left hander has displayed a remarkable hunger for runs, while placing a high value on his wicket. His sheer passion for batting and his urge to make use of every good start was demonstrated in the recent ODI series against India, where he got back to back centuries.

With a dash of style and exuberance doused in consistency, Quinton has grabbed the eyeballs of the cricketing world. His unadulterated, breath-taking talent is hard to miss – and it’s up to him to make best use of his gifts. de Kock undoubtedly has the potential to don the South African colours for many, many years, and it would be a royal waste of talent if he didn’t end his career as one of their best keeper-batsmen.