De Kock credits Proteas teammates for all-round effort against England

Though he received the Player of the Match award, top-order batter Quinton de Kock credited his teammates for a superb all-round performance in their victory over title holders England at the T20 World Cup on Friday night.

De Kock hit 65 runs, leading his team to 163/6, and while England put up a fight, they were shut down by Proteas bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje at the death. England were restricted to 156/6 as South Africa picked up a seven-run victory.

While the SA team performed better than their opponents in the powerplay overs, De Kock said this was just one of the elements that paved the way to victory, as the Proteas took a step closer to the semifinals of the global showpiece.

“I think our bowlers also bowled really well and there were one or two key moments that stood out. I think KG’s (Rabada) final over (the penultimate over of the game) was also potentially match-winning,” De Kock said.

“So there were other moments, but I think that’s obviously one of our better powerplays in this whole World Cup.”

Targeting playoffs

After climbing to the top of their Super 8 group, the Proteas would have received a massive boost in confidence ahead of their last match of the second round against tournament co-hosts West Indies in Antigua in the early hours of Monday morning (2.30am SA time).

If the United States beat England on Sunday night, the Proteas will progress to the semifinals.

If England secure victory over the US, the SA team will need to beat West Indies or hope they qualify for the playoffs on net run rate.