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Cape Town - New Proteas ODI captain Quinton de Kock says he would be happy to skipper the Test side if asked.
The 27-year-old was this week unveiled as South Africa's new captain in ODI cricket, replacing Faf du Plessis following last year's World Cup in England where the Proteas finished 7th.
While Du Plessis' future in all three formats is uncertain, he is currently under significant pressure on the Test stage following a string of poor results that have seen South Africa lose seven of their last eight Test matches.
With a two-Test tour to the West Indies in July the only other red ball commitment for the Proteas in 2020, Du Plessis' time in charge of the Test side could be coming to an end.
He has long identified October's T20 World Cup as a possible swansong to his international career, and if that happens Cricket South Africa (CSA) will need to identify a new man to lead the Test charges.
"There are a lot of guys who are also well prepared to be Test captains," De Kock told media at the Wanderers on Wednesday.
"Temba (Bavuma) was vice-captain and now he's come back, so his name is always going to be there.
"It's not up to me whether they want me to be Test captain or not. It's entirely up to the coaches and Graeme (Smith, Director of Cricket).
"I don't think I'll push for it, but if they want me to do it then I'll do it to the best of my ability."
De Kock acknowledged that this had been a difficult time for the national side, given the fact that they were 2-1 down in their Test series against England, but that he was trying his best to stay positive.
"I'm just trying to back Faf. There is a bit of pressure, not just on him, so I'm just trying to be there and help the guys out and maybe lighten the mood at times," he said.
"It's quite difficult when you're a player under so much pressure, so when I have an opportunity I try to make somebody feel better or give them advice."
While De Kock says he will encourage his players to be "street-smart" on the field and not overly rely on pre-match plans, he acknowledged that he had learnt a lot from Du Plessis' methods over the years.
"What I have learnt from Faf is the amount of patience he's developed over the years with the players ... a lot of high-profile players with a lot of opinions," he said.
"For him to have the patience to deal with that has helped him grow as a person and I've seen it from the side and obviously standing next to him as a 'keeper."
The fourth and final Test match gets underway at the Wanderers on Friday.
