One of the great scenes in Rocky history occurs in Rocky III when Rocky’s trainer, Mickey, tells Rocky he’s been fighting bums. “You ain’t been hungry since you won the belt,” Mickey tells his young protégé. As I watched Quinton de Kock drive rather loosely at a full ball, having already scored a boundary off his first ball, on his way to a two-ball innings, I wondered if the hunger truly burns. It must be said that de Kock is a modern-day white-ball cricket great. Only Kumar Sangakkara has scored more ODI hundreds than de Kock. Similarly, he’s one of only 23 men to score a century in all three formats of the game. He’s a modern-day giant. But we cannot pretend there isn’t a problem here. Since de Kock’s record-breaking ODI World Cup in India, he hasn’t been able to have a sustained run of form. Having been brought over for a rumoured R5 million payday to the Big Bash League, de Kock scored 104 runs in six games at an average of 17.33.
It would be easy to blame that on a post-World Cup letdown, but there has not been a turnaround. Including his failure last night, he now averages 20.3 in T20 matches. Sometimes stats like this can be misleading, i.e., maybe he was so uniquely poor for a stretch that it hides a more sustained run of greatness. No, not that either. He averaged 19.36 in the SA20, and then averaged 22.72 in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In other words, it’s been bad the whole way through.
“In conversations with Quinny at the time of him walking away from ODI cricket [after the World Cup in India, which ended last month], it was originally his plan to retire altogether. I asked him to hold off on that decision. He had a Big Bash opportunity which clashed with the India series. In order to keep him in the game, this was the resolution.” – Rob Walter
This quote points to the source of the problem. Imagine you’re the best man at your best friend’s wedding, and you’ve spent months getting in shape, preparing a heartfelt speech, and making sure everything is perfect for the big day. You put your heart and soul into it because it’s a moment that truly matters. But then, at the last minute, the wedding is postponed, and instead of happening next week, it’s rescheduled for several months later. The initial excitement and drive you had begin to wane. When the new date arrives, you find it hard to muster the same enthusiasm and dedication. You’ve already given it your all once, and the prospect of doing it again doesn’t hold the same allure. Similarly, de Kock prepared to end his international career on a high note with the World Cup. But with his retirement extended and without a clear, immediate goal, maintaining that peak level of intensity and motivation becomes a significant challenge. The passion that once fuelled his performances has naturally begun to fade.
Despite the frequent and juvenile jokes at the expense of his name, Quinton de Kock’s surname, which means “The Cook” in Dutch, carries a certain irony. It suggests a mastery and preparation, a relentless appetite for excellence. Yet, paradoxically, it seems that de Kock’s hunger for the game at the highest level has waned. The fire that once drove him to become a modern-day cricket giant now flickers less brightly, leaving us to ponder the complexities of sustaining such intense passion in the twilight of a storied career.
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