The Hundred: Quinton de Kock steers Brave to Superchargers win

The highlight of the first round of fixtures in the Super Rugby competition was the 100th try Mzwanele Zito scored for the Springboks in what would prove to be his last match for South Africa.

The only Brave with a Supercharger win in the history of the Superchargers series highlights the talent and abilities of the Brave racecar driver Quinton de Kock. This is a good way for a driver to start his career in the Superchargers series, as it is a challenging but engaging series where drivers must learn how to optimize their car on just a few gallons of fuel.

The Atlanta Braves are famous for having a player from each country on their roster. All but one of them, Quinton de Kock, are from South Africa, and he’s the only one who’s from the Western Cape. Never before has the Braves had an all-Africa roster, but de Kock is the first to come out of that region to make it to the major leagues.

In the men’s Hundred at the Ageas Bowl, a brilliant knock from South Africa skipper Quinton de Kock led Southern Brave through a late wobble and to a vital win against Northern Superchargers.

Brave triumphed by five wickets with five balls to spare when De Kock was recruited as a late replacement after Australia’s David Warner dropped out of the tournament. De Kock scored 72 from 45 balls as Brave moved from 101-2 to 109-5.

Adil Rashid of the Superchargers bowled brilliantly to capture 2-19 and go to the top of the men’s wicket-taking charts with 10.

In their 128-6, the Superchargers lost a number of wickets, including Adam Lyth, who was bowled round his legs from the opening ball of the game.

Dane Vilas top scored with an undefeated 35, while Danny Briggs took 2-28 as a concussion replacement for South Africa’s Faf du Plessis.

Brave, who had lost their first two games but have since gone undefeated in their last four, are currently second in the eight-team standings, while Superchargers slip to fifth.

‘He’s hitting his stride at the perfect moment.’

De Kock is one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world, but he was not selected in the first round of the 2019 draft.

That may have been due to South Africa’s planned timetable, and de Kock was only snatched up when Warner withdrew due to quarantine restrictions in Australia.

He had so far failed to make an impression, scoring 51 runs in three innings, but this was a telling and really world-class innings.

With 14 off 11 required, he hit nine fours – ferocious pulls, spectacular reverse sweeps, and exquisite in-to-out cover drives – and one six right down the ground.

Brave overcame the jitters of the three fast wickets thanks to his composure and skill, allowing Chris Jordan to play freely and smash a six to win the game.

“Quinton de Kock always plays the game with a free spirited air about him – he never seems frazzled,” observed ex-England batsman Michael Carberry, who was on Sport commentary.

“He’s peaking at the perfect moment, which is what you want from your top players,” says the coach.

De Kock attempted to score through mid-wicket, but reverse swept successfully behind square as well.

‘He has the ability to deceive batters.’

England captain Eoin Morgan stated in late June that “just a half-dozen players were nailed down” for the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in October, and mentioned Tymal Mills as someone who might push his way into the lineup, calling him “an excellent bowler.”

Jofra Archer, a 90mph bowler, has been ruled out with an elbow injury since then, and England is likely to seek a straight replacement.

Mills, who hasn’t played for England since February 2017 owing to a congenital back ailment that causes spinal difficulties, may be pressing his case.

On Thursday, Mills bowled Joe Clarke with what Sport commentator Henry Moeran described as “an absolute rocket,” while on Saturday, he regularly hit 90mph and used canny change-ups to drop his pace to around 69mph. Mills has played in franchise competitions all over the world, including the Indian Premier League.

The hitters for the Superchargers failed to pick him up, hitting just one boundary and seven dot balls out of the left-20 armer’s pitches.

“He’s definitely defining himself in people’s minds for the World T20,” remarked sports analyst Charles Dagnall.

“He’s utilized his slower ball to such excellent effect, and he’s been able to bamboozle batters so they can’t line him up,” Big Bash champion Chris Green said.

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