Graeme Smith happy with Quinton de Kock’s captaincy
JOBURG – Former Proteas captain Graeme Smith shares his thoughts on the captaincy of Quinton de Kock.
Cricket South Africa‘s (CSA) interim director of cricket, Graeme Smith said he was happy with Quinton de Kock’s captaincy of the Proteas in limited-overs but was yet to decide on a Test captain.
Faf du Plessis stepped down as captain in all formats in February and De Kock was made one-day international and T20 captain.
Smith, who is regarded by many as the Proteas’ most successful captain ever, was speaking to the media along with CSA CEO Jacques Faul during a tele-press conference with the media on 31 March. They addressed issues relating to domestic and international cricket in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think at this stage my expectations on Quinny’s leadership is mainly around the tactical side on the field,” Smith said.
“I think he’s certainly had some challenges. We’ve introduced a fair amount of new young players and given some opportunities across the board, which is never easy as a captain. You’ve got to bring them all together on the field, understand people’s strengths and weaknesses and get the best out of them.”
Smith added that despite this, De Kock had maintained his personal performances as a batsman, which was important.
“From all accounts, he’s connected really well behind the scenes as a leader, behind closed doors with the players. Having been a young or inexperienced captain [myself], it is about opening your mind and growing to all the different challenges the job will bring.”
The collective leadership group, including De Kock, coach Mark Boucher, assistant coach Enoch Nkwe and Proteas staff, needs to always look how they could improve, Smith added.
“No one is perfect and no one has all the skills. I think as an organisation if we keep assessing and looking at how we can grow and improve across the board, then I think we will have a better chance of being successful.”
The T20 World Cup is set to take place in Australia in October.
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