‘We just batted’: De Kock and Bairstow kept it simple in rampant knock

Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow during their match-winning partnership for Sunrisers Eastern Cape against the Pretoria Capitals at SuperSport Park. Picture: Arjun Singh/Sportzpics/SA20 Among the most experienced players in the competition, Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow said they barely needed to discuss anything while running rampant for Sunrisers Eastern Cape during their SA20 clash against Pretoria Capitals in Centurion on Monday night. Chasing 177 runs to win, former England international Bairstow bashed 85 not out off 45 and comeback Proteas star De Kock hit an unbeaten 79 off 41, as theysecured a 10-wicket victoryfor the visitors with more than five overs to spare.

Their 177-run partnership was the second highest in an SA20 match, after the 200-run stand between Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen for MI Cape Town against the Joburg Super Kings in 2024. With33-year-old De Kockand 36-year-old Bairstow having played 680 T20 matches between them in their careers, De Kock said there wasn’t any real need for the two openers to speak much out on the field. “We’ve played so much cricket all around the world, so all he (Bairstow) really asked me is if it was swinging or not, and then ‘you be you and I be me’ type thing, and we just batted,” said De Kock, who was named Player of the Match.

Bairstow admitted he had leaned on De Kock a bit, with the South African veteran having played plenty of cricket for the Titans at SuperSport Park. “It was just a case of playing good cricket shots,” said Bairstow, who hit Capitals spinner Keshav Maharaj for 34 runs in the 12th over, which was the most expensive over in an SA20 game. “Quinny’s got a wealth of knowledge and experience playing here over so many years, so I was just dipping into that.” He agreed, however, that there hadn’t been much need for the two openers to bounce things off each other during their innings. “We have both played so much, there’s just little bits that you’ll chat about, but to be honest with you it’s just about staying as calm as possible, watching the ball and reacting.” While the Sunrisers openers had carried them to victory, Bairstow also credited the team’s bowlers for limiting the hosts to 176 runs.