Quinton de Kock making every run count before bowing out

Proteas star Quinton de Kock is gunning for a historic finish to his ODI career with him set to retire internationally from the format at the end of the Cricket World Cup in India.

Although just 30-years-old, De Kock looks as if he is going to put all his focus into competing in T20 competitions around the world over the final years of his cricketing career, while staying available for T20Is for the Proteas, as he already retired from Test cricket two years ago.

With this his final hurrah with the national team on the ODI front, he will obviously be hoping to make history in the best possible way, by winning a first ever World Cup title with the Proteas at the end of this month.

The Proteas have never won the biggest trophy in ODIs and claiming it in his final showing in the format would be the ultimate way to bow out.

However, he is also chasing a number of personal historic milestones, of which he is well on his way to achieving.

Centuries and runs

The two big personal targets in his sights will be the most centuries at a World Cup tournament as well as the most runs.

The current record holder for most centuries at a World Cup is India’s Rohit Sharma, with him hitting five at the 2019 event, while De Kock’s hundred against New Zealand on Wednesday brought him level with Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara who struck four centuries at the 2015 tournament.

On the run scoring front De Kock on Wednesday became the first South African to ever score over 500 runs at a World Cup, entering the top 10 with 545 runs in seven games.

The current top run scorer at a World Cup is Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar who scored 673 in 11 games at the 2003 event.

De Kock has at least three games left to surpass those records.

De Kock summed it up best on Wednesday when asked if he was in the best ODI form of his life: “I think so. I have been feeling really good lately. My (ODI) career is coming to its end so I am just trying to bat as much as I can.”