Proteas superstar Quinton de Kock reckons on Thursday’s 10.30am Cricket World Cup clash with Australia in Lucknow, India, will be a clash of egos.
Fierce rivals on the cricket field, South Africa and Australia have clashed 108 times since 1992 with South Africa winning 54 of those matches and Australia 50.
One match ended in a no-result, while three ended in ties.
The 𝐑![CDATA[]]>𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐕![CDATA[]]>𝐀![CDATA[]]>𝐋![CDATA[]]>𝐑![CDATA[]]>𝐘 resumes as old foes meet again 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 🤝 🇦![CDATA[]]>🇺
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 12, 2023
🏟 Brsabve Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
🕐 10:30
📺 SuperSport Grandstand (Ch 201) & SABC 3
#AUSvSA #CWC23 #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/e3V69JSxku
But in between we’ve seen historical battles between Australia’s Shane Warne and SA’s batters, the 438-game in Johannesburg in 2006, the Allan Donald and Lance Klusener run out incident in the 1999 World Cup, Sandpapergate, this clash has had it all in years gone by.
And while the Aussies have knocked South Africa out of the World Cup twice (in 1999 and again in the semis in 2007), SA enjoyed the upper hand in recent years.
Fighting back from 2-0 down to win their five-match ODI series 2-1 in SA last month, the Proteas have won six out of the last eight matches against their rivals.
RESULT | #PROTEAS WIN BY 102 RUNS 🚨
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 7, 2023
A record-breaking match comes to an end as we get our #CWC23 campaign off to a solid start#SAvSL #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/akiL3z4Cyd
And while Australia were humiliated by being bowled out for just 199 runs against India in their first match of the World Cup before going down by six wickets, South Africa smashed a tournament-high 428/5 in their 120-run win over Sri Lanka in their only game to date.
De Kock, who scored his first World Cup ton in that match, knows today’s clash will be different against captain Pat Cummins and his Aussies.
Asked about the rivalry between the two teams, De Kock says: “The SA batsman says: “I’m not too sure [why it’s so big].
“I think it’s just a big rivalry. I think it’s just international cricket, it’s just the way it is. Both teams are strong teams, both got big egos, both want to win, want to beat each other.
“So, I think that’s what it just comes down to. Whoever comes out, like I said earlier, whoever comes out and makes the best decisions in the most, in the biggest pressure situation will probably be the winner at the end of the day.”