Headingley| Absolute misfortune is how we can sum up Quinton de Kock's fate in the final One Day Internationals (ODI) that South Africa was playing against England. As the series was leveled with one victory each in England and South Africa's kitty, fans and cricket experts all around the globe had been expecting a cracker of a game to conclude South Africa's ODI campaign on English soil. South Africa had won the toss and had decided to bat first. Before even a ball was bowled, the English weather threatened to play a spoilsport and people just had their fingers crossed in hopes of a complete game.
After their debacle in the second ODI, the South African batsmen started on a very cautious note and gave ample respect to the English bowlers who were swinging the ball both ways with overcast conditions backing them. Reece Topley, who has been a revelation for English cricket created some initial trouble for the Proteas batsmen but it was David Willey who dismissed Janneman Malan for a meager 11 off 18 deliveries. Quinton de Kock held one end and dealt with the English bowling in his way.
Quinton de Kock first stitched a 77 runs partnership along with Rassie van der Dussen and then added more 55 runs along with Aiden Markram. The South African cricket team was cruising well with 159/2 on the board and looked all set to put up a challenging total for the English team to chase, but the weather had some other ideas. When de Kock was batting on 92*, rain struck and it just kept on getting heavier. The umpires had decided on a cut-off time for a 20-over game, but the rain just kept on getting heavier with passing time. Seeing no way out, the umpires had to call the game off which denied de Kock a memorable century.
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Teams:
England XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Philip Salt, Joe Root, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley
South Africa XI: Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock(w), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj(c), Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi
