Sarfraz Ahmed vs Quinton De Kock : The better Test keeper batsman at this point in life

[Suleiman]

South African top order were thrown into the pit in a very demanding tour vs a fiery Australian pace attack on a fast WACA pitch and the top and middle order were nervous and shaky, arms weak knees were heavy, and Starc + Hazlewood did them in for the most part.

Enter Quinton de Kock. Has looked so good and composed even in not particularly friendly conditions and situation he is in. Nearing a 50 and going about it at a SR of about 70-80.

In another part of the world another wicket keeper batsman by the name of Sarfraz Ahmed also made a name for himself in similar fashion, used to come in when going got tough, scored freely at a high SR and gave his team a chance.

But with Sarfraz fading a bit these days because of reasons unknown, is QdK the young dynamite set to displace Sarfraz as the best keeper bat in the world atm. Who would you rather wicket keep and then bat for your life?

 

[street cricketer]

Jonny Bairstow.

 

[samplepiece]

Think Quinton has a much higher ceiling. He is good enough to be in the team as a pure batter and he is very young.

 

[shah_1]

Sarfraz really is an average keeper

 

[shah_1]

Apart from Younis khan, Quinton de Kock is better all our batsmen

 

[shah_1]

Jonny Bairstow.

De Kock is Kohli level talent, other is a hard worker but clearly has his limitations.

No comparison

 

[Bilal7]

Sarfaraz Ahmed is better and more established. de Kock is quality as well though. Bairstow is the best batsman out of the three but his keeping is far weaker than that of the rest. Possibly the worst keeper playing for an international team.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Quinton De Cock.

In a year or two this won't even be a debate on PP provided the lad stays healthy and committed like now.

 

[Hasan123]

De kock is better. I think South Africa should consider having De kock play as a pure batter in tests because I think he's wasted at 7.

No way should JP be batting ahead of QDK

 

[blue_champion]

QDK is leagues and I mean leagues ahead.

Next level would be Sarfaraz,Saha,Bairstow and then the rest

 

[ShoonyaSifar]

De Cock will soon become a specialist batsman for SA across formats, a bit like how AB's career progressed. Could easily end up with a 50+ average in tests and ODIs , at a farily healthy strike rate.

Everytime I watch him bat, I always remember Unmukt Chand, both were contemporaries in u-19 cricket and have been two of most prolific scorers at that level. Chand is struggling in FC cricket when he could have had everything whereas De Cock is already a established star in international cricket,

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

De kock is better. I think South Africa should consider having De kock play as a pure batter in tests because I think he's wasted at 7.

No way should JP be batting ahead of QDK

Completely agree with you on this. Sangakara too played as a specialist batsman in the test team and that helped sri lanka a lot.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

OP keeps getting embarrassed by Sarfaraz thus has to resort to making new comparisons every series.

 

[Hasan123]

Completely agree with you on this. Sangakara too played as a specialist batsman in the test team and that helped sri lanka a lot.

Yep. If de kock bats for 2 or 3 sessions he could take the game away from the opposition because he can play shots all around the ground and always bats at a good strike rate

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Ill take Sarfraz in Asia. People underrate how good he is in Tests

 

[Mamoon]

QdK is the next Gilchrist talent wise. Sarfraz isn't at that level, and neither is Bairstow.

Bairstow is a better batsman than Sarfraz but an inferior keeper.

 

[Pantani]

de Kock played really well today. As Mamoon says he's the next Gilchrist. There's no keeper-batsman going around who is as destructive as he is, except Buttler, who's not a red ball cricketer at this stage in his career.

Sarfraz is class, but I would select QdK ahead of him.

 

[kuthaman]

Quinton De Kock looks calm and ready but Sarfaraz needs a big bowl of his mom's spaghetti.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Superb Century by Best Wicket Keeper Batsman of World Cricket.


First saw him playing domestic T20 cricket in South Africa when he was 18-19 and he immediately clicked with his timing, shot range, maturity, calmness at crease & elegance especially offside play and balance.


Than by the time he was 20 He had 4 Fc hundreds on SA wickets in his first 31 innings of Fc Cricket where he averaged 56.63. Remember SA wickets and the quality of C Morris, GC Viljoen, Kyle Abbott & Dane Patterson.



Superb player MashaAllah.

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

Quinton De Kock is an excellent keeper, takes somes blinders, Sarfraz looks like Kami in front of Kock, keeping wise. If we compare batting, Kock will easily surpass Gilly in Test and Haydos in ODIs. Kock is a living legend, next Proteafire captain.

In Ranking Keeper/Batsman
1) Kock
2) Kock
3) Kock
4) Kock
5) Srafraz/ Bairstow etc

Kock has set the standard so high, that I don't think anyone can come close to this legend. The kid has won hearts with the bat and gloves

 

[shariqnoor]

Quinton De Kock's timing is without a shadow of a doubt the best in international cricket right now. He hardly mistimes his shots. A sign of a great great batsman. For me, number 7 is too low for a batsman of his class. Since SA doesn't have a rock solid opener, I would have him opening in Tests also.

 

[soso_killer]

Quinton De Kock is an excellent keeper, takes somes blinders, Sarfraz looks like Kami in front of Kock, keeping wise. If we compare batting, Kock will easily surpass Gilly in Test and Haydos in ODIs. Kock is a living legend, next Proteafire captain.

In Ranking Keeper/Batsman
1) Kock
2) Kock
3) Kock
4) Kock
5) Srafraz/ Bairstow etc

Kock has set the standard so high, that I don't think anyone can come close to this legend. The kid has won hearts with the bat and gloves

The "Kock" goes with the "de", just like AB isn't Villiers but de Villiers.

 

[soso_killer]

Superb Century by Best Wicket Keeper Batsman of World Cricket.


First saw him playing domestic T20 cricket in South Africa when he was 18-19 and he immediately clicked with his timing, shot range, maturity, calmness at crease & elegance especially offside play and balance.


Than by the time he was 20 He had 4 Fc hundreds on SA wickets in his first 31 innings of Fc Cricket where he averaged 56.63. Remember SA wickets and the quality of C Morris, GC Viljoen, Kyle Abbott & Dane Patterson.



Superb player MashaAllah.

Viljoen and Morris were his mates though. Never faced them.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Would be interesting when the lad hits his first dip in form and subsequently plays his first true away scheduling in alien conditions !! I'll make my decision then. You judge the greatness of a player when he is under the pump and how he performs at that point in time not when he is ramping on the scores in conditions more or less similar to where he grew up.

It's like having a hoopla around YK based just on his scores in India, SL and Bangladesh. Most consider YK an ATG is because he churned out the runs (centuries and double centuries) at 40+ age in conditions that we rarely get to play in (Eng and SA).

For now I reserve my judgement on QDK based on the above criteria, as for the moment the 5 best test batsmen for me are : Root, YK, Cook, Amla and Williamson. - QDK still has to do a bit in his career to actually stake a claim amongst the big boys !!

 

[Mamoon]

QdK is a once in a generation cricketer. Next SA captain as well.

This is comparison is unfair on Sarfraz because he is a solid player in his own right, but players like QdK are talked about for generations.

Next SA captain as well.

 

[Jan Sher]

Ill take Sarfraz in Asia. People underrate how good he is in Tests

He is fading with time, in Asia. He needs some refurbishing.

 

[Jan Sher]

Both are brave cricketers, but Quinton is slightly mentally stronger than Sarfraz.

 

[Mamoon]

Both are brave cricketers, but Quinton is slightly mentally stronger than Sarfraz.

I hope QdK turns it on in ICC tournaments as well. So far, he has not delivered on that stage, which is normal for a SA player, but someone has to buck the trend.

 

[JaDed]

Most talented by far,but remember him talking about pressure in IPL of all tournaments,needs to absorb more pressure from a crowd perspective.

 

[spade]

de kock is a very good batsman and is arguably the best keeper bat in the world right now, no one comes close at the moment, at such a young age for him to occupy the top spot is remarkable. One other hallmark of his batting is the ease with which he scores his runs makes batting look so simple and effortless bit like Sehwag.

Sarfarz had a great start to his career scoring hundreds in UAE and taking the opposition apart, but the problem with Sarfaraz is his hunger, he gets satisfied with little milestones like 50s and throws his wicket away.

 

[volcyz]

QDK is gonna be the best bat in the world

 

[GLORY OF '92]

QDK is magnificent but still too early to call him better than Sarfraz. Maybe in a few years he will overtake him. Sarfraz has won a lot of Tests.

 

[Amjid Javed]

QDK is gonna be the best bat in the world

Not proven in all conditions around the world.. so lets see how he goes and if he lives up to your statement.

 

[Rayyman]

I think Sarfraz is better right now.

 

[The_Odd_One]

De Kock has insanely high ceiling and has the potential to be a GOAT cricketer. He is a better keeper and batsman than both Sarfraz and Bairstow in both formats.