West Indies Vs South Africa – T20 World Cup 2021 Match #18 Quick Review! SA Win Despite Quinton de Kock Controversy

by Nitesh Mathur | Oct 28, 2021 | Article Index, T20 World Cup

West Indies Vs South Africa Quick Review — Bowlers and Reeza-Rassie-Markram take South Africa home as West Indies stagnant.

Quinton de Kock’s absence the talk of the town. What do you think? Comment below on your thoughts regarding QDK and the mandate by cricket South Africa regarding BLM movement.

Match Details, Scorecard, & Video Highlights

Scorecard: West Indies Vs South Africa Video Highlights

Toss: South Africa won the toss and chose to field first.

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE

Umpires: Aleem Dar & Paul Reiffel

What Actually Happened

• Winner: South Africa won by 8 wickets
• Scores: India 151/7 – Pakistan 152/0
• Player of the Match: Anrich Nortje 1/14
• Best Figures
  • Dwaine Pretorious (2-0-17-3), Anrich Nortje (4-0-14-1)
  • Akeal Hosein (4-0-27-1)
• Most Runs
  • Evin Lewis 56 (35)
  • Aiden Markram 51* (26), Rassie van der Dussen 43* (51), Reeza Hendricks 39* (30)

Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: West Indies Get Simmoned

Lendl Simmons has been one of the stars for West Indies for a decade. Even though he has been in and out, he has played some important knocks like in the 2016 Cricket World Cup semi-final.

Today, though, was not his day. Like really. After West Indies were out for 55 against England, WI needed an anchor, but 16 (35) without any boundaries is not inspiring stuff. He could not Tewatia out of this situation, unfortunately.

Also Read: 44 Contenders For 23-Men England T20 World Cup Squad: Who’s In, Who Misses Out?

Moments of The Day: Bowlers, Markram Take South Africa Home

• Simmons was slow due to disciplined South African bowling with Rabada (4-0-27-1), Nortje (4-0-14-1), Maharaj (4-0-24-2), and Pretorius (2-0-17-3). Only Shamsi, their best T20I bowler, was expensive.
• South Africa’s top order made sure there were no hiccups after Buman’s early run-out. Reeza Hendricks took the challenge as QDK’s replacement with a 39 (30). After the strong start, van der Dussen and Aiden Markram changed the game. While Rassie was the anchor, it was Markram’s 51 (26) with 4 sixes that took them home.

The Elephant in the Room: Quinton de Kock Controversy

Temba Bavuma contended that today was the most difficult day of his captaincy due to off the field stories.

We will break this down in three parts: (1) How it began, (2) What prompted QDK’s actions, and (3) his recent apology.

How It Began

South Africa has had a tough history to contend with. Apartheid, cricket suspension, transformations, quota, and the 2015 World Cup Semi-Final. This year, the hearings from former South African colored players and Mark Boucher’s inner rooms racist pasts have unraveled South African cricket even further.

Here is a link to Faf-ABD’s career that dives into ‘the match that broke South Africa.’ Also check out Jarrod Kimber’s video summarizing the history and connections with QDK today.

To honor the Black Lives Matter moment, most teams were taking a knee unanimously. However, in South Africa’s first game, the reaction was not unified – knees, fists, or no reaction.

II. QDK Reacts on CSA Mandate

Just a few hours before the game, Cricket South Africa mandated each player requiring them to take the knee. This unsettled Quinton de Kock, after which he made himself ‘unavailable for personal reasons.’

Reeza Hendricks replaced him as a keeper and Klassen as a keeper. Social media went against QDK, calling him a racist.

Several questions here – (1) Was it right for Quinton de Kock to give up on the team right regardless of the reason? End of QDK’s international career? Supporting a movement is okay, but requiring an action – is that a bit too much? After all, not saying anything is freedom of speech/expression in itself.

III. The Statement

Quinton de Kock presented a heartfelt statement (if you have not read it yet, please read the 3 pages below). He has agreed to take the knee if it educates the public in a positive manner and furthermore,

I love every one of my teammates…Bavuma is a flipping amazing leader….if he/team/South Africa will have me, I would love nothing more than to play for my country again.”

– Quinton de Kock

T20 World Cup Points Table, Stat Alert

No need to go elsewhere for the Points Table, Highest Run Scorer, Highest Wicket Taker, Most Catches, and Most Dismissals. We will keep updating it in every article!

• Musfiqur Rahim – 135 runs (Bangladesh, 5 Matches)
• Shakib Al Hasan – 11 wickets (Bangladesh, 4 Matches)
• Calum MacLeod – 6 catches (Scotland, 5 Matches)
• Nurul Hasan, Matthew Cross (Bangladesh/Scotland) – 5 dismissals

Group 1 Table

Group 2 Table

Also, if you have not yet read our T20 World Cup Previews, here is a list of all of them! Check them out and share ahead:

1. A Review – Group A 2021 T20 World Cup Squads Dissected: Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands, Sri Lanka
2. B Review – Group B 2021 T20 World Cup Squads Dissected: Bangladesh, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland
3. 1 Review – Group 1 2021 T20 World Cup Squads Dissected: Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies
4. 2 Review – Group 2 2021 T20 World Cup Squads Dissected: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, New Zealand

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2021. Originally published on 10/28/2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).

Image Courtesy: Graphic (original work), Kyle Coetzer – Photo by Francois Nel-ICC/ICC via Getty Images, Mahmudullah – Photo by Mike Hewitt-ICC/ICC via Getty Images