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De Kock and AB keep it simple

Cape Town - He is a man of few words, which makes his approach to batting all the more fitting. 

It is looking increasingly likely that 23-year-old Quinton de Kock will be a vital cog in South Africa's batting line-up at this month's ICC World Twenty20 in India.

It is also looking likely that he will open the innings alongside AB de Villiers. 

What that means for the pedigreed Hashim Amla remains to be seen, but the prospect of De Kock and De Villiers getting the Proteas started in the powerplay overs is an undeniably exciting one. 

De Villiers is a proven magician, while De Kock has very quickly carved a reputation for himself as one of the cleanest strikers of a ball in world cricket. 

The left-hander was asked on Tuesday what the plan was between him and De Villiers when they walked to the middle together ... do they decide who will have a go and who will be a little more cautious? 

It turns out that there isn't much time for such talk in T20 cricket, and no time for caution either. 

"It doesn’t matter who takes it on. If we both go at it, so be it. If one of us gets out early we just carry on," De Kock said.

"It changes - even ‘Hash’ can play very aggressively, as we saw the other day.

"I always have a look to see that the strike rate is at 100%, and when the time comes have a go."

De Kock's highest score in T20I cricket is only 48*, but it is surely just a matter of time before he rectifies that. 

"It’s one of my goals to have a century in each format. If it comes my way, happy days," he said.

The third and final T20I against Australia takes place at Newlands on Wednesday with the series tied at 1-1, and the side departs for India on Thursday.

And while he is glad not to be facing the two Mitchells - Starc and Johnson - De Kock says the current crop of Australian quicks is decent.

"It’s always tough up front. The Australian team is always known to hit the splice hard. They’ve always got skills or something up their sleeve," he said.

"We know series wins against Australia don’t come easily. But there’s a bigger picture. When we get to India and we play against them in different conditions there, we’ll see what happens."

Play on Wednesday starts at 18:00.

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