The onus of bringing back crowds to Test cricket lies with both players and administrators, says Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock has stated that it is the responsibility of both players and administrators to bring back crowds to Test matches and they both need to work together in this. De Kock backed the concept of Day-Night Tests but felt that there are some rough edges to it which needed to be ironed out.
After BCCI’s recent refusal to play Day-Night Test in Australia, the talks of the pink ball Test concept has risen once again. While the format does attract audiences, there are still few glitches which must be addressed. Quinton de Kock, who was part of the South African team that play a Day-Night Test in Adelaide against Australia in 2016, insisted that the teams must continue playing pink ball Tests and felt that it is the responsibility of the players as well as the boards to bring Test cricket back into the limelight. Although, he did admit that the Day-Night matches have few rough edges which must be ironed out. De Kock also added that the concept was helpful in bringing huge crowds to the ground, which would ultimately benefit the game. Â
“There is a problem with the ball at certain times of the day, particularly in the twilight period,” said Quinton De Kock at the launch of Spintech as quoted by PTI. “Teams should continue playing
“I think it’s a good concept but there are one or two things that can make the game better, especially for the players. For the fans it’s awesome,” he added.Â
The opener, who is currently playing for RCB in the ongoing IPL, praised the Indian fast bowling attack and called it as one of the best in the world. He stated that he was looking forward to India’s tour of England and is interested to see how the Indian bowling line up fares in England.
“I think it’s going to be a good contest,” de Kock said. “The Indian seam attack is one of the best that I have ever faced. They are really good. The likes of Bhuvi (Bhuvanehwar Kumar), (Jasprit) Bumrah, Hardik (Pandya), (Mohammad) Shami (and) Ishant (Sharma), all these guys were very consistent and opposing teams are going to struggle against them. They have one of the hardest bowling attacks that one can face, especially as openers,” he said.
India’s tour of England will start in July with a three-match Twenty20 series, followed by three-match ODI series and five-match Test series. De Kock also praised the Indian batsmen, who toured South Africa, saying they played bounce very well. South Africa won the Test series 2-1, but India outclassed them in the ODI series 5-1 earlier this year. The Kohli led team also defeated South Africa in the three match T20 series 2-1.
“They (the Indian team) came to South Africa and played the bounce really well. That’s something that’s going to keep happening now and in the future. They are not going to be scared anymore. Even on pitches that assisted pace and bounce they did well. They were just too good,” he said.Â
“You have got guys like (Ajinkya) Rahane, Shikhar (Dhawan), (MS) Dhoni and Virat (Kohli) leading by example, guys who are not scared of taking on the opposition, De Kock said when asked what was the difference between the Indian team that toured South Africa early this year and the past teams,” he added.
