Quinton de Kock’s 115 with Dewald Brevis’ borrowed bat sinks West Indies in Centurion thriller
Quinton de Kock turned a near disaster into a career-best night, smashing a 115-run masterpiece with a borrowed bat from Dewald Brevis as South Africa hunted down a huge West Indies total at SuperSport Park – and then promptly refused to keep the blade, joking it was “for youngsters who swing hard.”
Panic, a forgotten kit bag – and a borrowed Brevis bat
South Africa went 2–0 up in the three-match T20I series, but de Kock’s preparation for his 101st T20I was anything but smooth.
Moments before the team bus left for Centurion, he realised his bats were still back on the coast and out of reach before the game.
“I went a bit white when I realised,” he later admitted, explaining there was no time to get his own kit flown in.
Once at the ground, the left-hander went “shopping” in the dressing room and pulled a bat out of young Dewald Brevis’ bag, telling him, “I’m just going to use this one today.”
Brevis cheekily assured him it was perfect: a “left-handed bat” specially suited to him, prompting de Kock’s amused reaction: “Wow! Youngsters these days!”
Crucially, that improvised choice did not change his method. He stuck to his usual aggressive but calculated game, only this time with someone else’s willow doing the damage.
De Kock’s brutal 115 that flattened West Indies
West Indies had done almost everything right with the bat, powering their way to 221 for 4 on a flat SuperSport Park surface.
Shimron Hetmyer hammered 75 off 42 balls, with eight fours and three sixes, anchoring the innings from the top.
Sherfane Rutherford exploded at the death, finishing unbeaten on 57 from 24 deliveries, including five fours and four sixes.
Opener Brandon King blazed 49 off 30, just one short of a richly deserved half-century.
Amid the onslaught, Keshav Maharaj’s 2 for 22 in four overs stood out; he conceded only one boundary, preventing a total closer to 240.
Set 222 to win, South Africa lost captain Aiden Markram cheaply for 15, but from there de Kock and Ryan Rickelton completely owned the night.
De Kock smashed a career-best 115 off just 49 balls, with six fours and 10 towering sixes, his second T20I century and one of the most destructive innings of his career.
Rickelton played the perfect foil, finishing unbeaten on 77 off 36 balls with clean ground hitting and smart rotation.
The pair added a mammoth 162 for the second wicket, reaching 150 in under 12 overs and 200 inside 16, as the chase was completed with 15 balls to spare at 225 for 3 in 17.3 overs.
The win sealed the series 2–0 with one to play and reinforced South Africa’s growing reputation for outrageous chases at Centurion, where they already own several records including a 259 chase against the same opponents.
South Africa vs West Indies, 2nd T20I – key numbers
Team | Score (20 overs) | Top scorer | Best bowler | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
--------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
West Indies | 221/4 | Hetmyer 75 (42), Rutherford 57* (24) | Keshav Maharaj 2/22 | Lost by 7 wickets |
South Africa | 225/3 in 17.3 overs | de Kock 115 (49), Rickelton 77* (36) | Akeal Hosein 2/41 | Won, clinched series 2–0 |
Why de Kock refused to keep Brevis’ bat
After an innings that will be replayed for years, many assumed de Kock would cling to the “lucky” bat, but he was having none of it.
Asked if he planned to keep Brevis’ blade, he laughed off the idea: “If my bats come before the next game, I will be using my own bats so no, that bat is going back to Brevis.”
He admitted he “didn’t really enjoy it”, explaining that “the weight was out of place” and that the bat was “for youngsters who swing hard.”
To him, it was a one-night-only solution, not a new superstition; his trusted bats will be back in service as soon as logistics allow.
That attitude fits de Kock’s persona: unfussy, practical, and more focused on conditions and game plans than on equipment folklore.
“I’ve worked harder for runs than tonight”
Despite lighting up Centurion, de Kock insisted this was far from the toughest knock of his career.
He called the pitch “very good” and said the batting group simply “played accordingly,” knowing that most big totals on that ground are always in play.
“I’m one of those guys who prefer really working hard on hard batting wickets, being really clever, being street smart,” he explained, adding that in T20s he often gets more satisfaction from gritty runs on tougher surfaces.
With South Africa having chased monster scores at SuperSport Park before, the dressing room carried a quiet belief that 222 was chaseable if they applied themselves and stuck to their process.
In the end, the story of the night had everything: forgotten kit, a teenage prodigy’s bat, a senior pro’s supreme timing, and a West Indies attack demolished by a stand worth 162 runs – before the borrowed bat was politely handed back.