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QUINTON DE KOCK IS ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS SA'S EVER HAD - DOMINGO
Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s assistant coach Russell Domingo has expressed his delight in reuniting with Quinton de Kock for Betway SA20 Season 4.
De Kock, who sensationally made a comeback to international cricket after a 15-month hiatus by being named in the Proteas T20 and ODI squads for the upcoming tour of Pakistan on Monday, will swap Durban’s Super Giants blue for Sunrisers’ orange this coming season.
Domingo and De Kock share a special bond with the now 32-year-old having spent the majority of the early years of international career under the former Proteas’ head coach’s tutelage.
The relationship stretches beyond cricket with both enjoying a passion for deep-sea angling, as Betway SA20 commentator Dale Steyn jokingly alluded to by calling Domingo “the worst fisherman I’ve met”.
Equally, Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s head coach Adrian Birrell was Domingo’s assistant during his Proteas tenure, further strengthening the bond.
“We are ecstatic to have Quinton,” Domingo said. “We were looking for a left-hand opener and we snuck in with one of the best players South Africa’s ever had.”
Russell Domingo, Sunrisers Eastern Cape batting coach, is excited to have Quinton de Kock as part of their Season 4 squad
Domingo believes De Kock’s addition to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape squad will set up the two-times champions with a powerful top-order followed by Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs.
“With the likes of him and Jordan (Hermann) in the mix, and (England World Cup winner) Jonny Bairstow, it's a fantastic top three for us,” he exclaimed.
The Sunrisers have not only topped up their batting unit, but have also assembled a high-quality pace attack that will be led by Betway SA20 Season 3 MVP Marco Jansen, homegrown express Anrich Nortje and New Zealand paceman Adam Milne.
Domingo feels it's the quality of depth though that will set them apart from their competitors.
“We're really, really happy with the sort of balance that we’ve put together,” he said.
“On top of the pace we have, there’s Lutho Sipamla and Beyers Swanepoel, two of the best domestic bowlers in the country, which gives us really good depth. They know how to bowl under these conditions.
“Beyers has played a lot of cricket here. Lutho played quite a lot for the Warriors before he moved up to the Lions. He's another PE boy.
“Obviously, Marco's MVP the last year too, left-armer which is a nice option to have. So, I think we've got a lot of good bases covered.”
