Quinton de Kock hangs his boots from Test cricket: My family is everything to me

South Africa wicketkeeperbatter Quinton de Kock on Thursday bid adieu to Test cricket with immediate effect citing his intentions to spend more time with his growing familyThe sudden decision comes after the Proteas first Test match against India in Centurion where the visitors won by 113 runs and took a 10 lead in the threematch seriesThe 29year old De Kock made his Proteas Test debut against Australia in 2014 In 54 matches he amassed 3 300 runs with a high score of 141 notout at an average of 3882 and strike rate of 7093 He also has six centuries and 22 halfcenturies under his beltDe Kock has cited his intentions to spend more time with his growing family for the timing and reason for his relatively early retirement from the format He and his wife Sasha are anticipating the imminent birth of their firstborn child in the coming days the Cricket South Africa CSA said in a statementThe former Test captains talent as a wicketkeeper set him apart on the world stage with 232 dismissals including 221 catches and 11 stumpingsDe Kock has also taken the thirdmost catches in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship 48 in 11 matches 47 catches and 1 stumping and has a personal best of six dismissals in an innings against England in Centurion in 2019This is not a decision that I have come to very easily I have taken a lot of time to think about what my future looks like and what needs to take priority in my life now that Sasha and I are about to welcome our first child into this world and look to grow our family beyond that My family is everything to me and I want to have the time and space to be able to be with them during this new and exciting chapter of our lives the CSA statement quoted De Kock as sayingI love Test cricket and I love representing my country and all that it comes with Ive enjoyed the ups and the downs the celebrations and even the disappointments but now Ive found something that I love even more In life you can buy almost everything except for time and right now its time to do right by the people that mean the most to meI would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been a part of my Test cricket journey from the very beginning To my coaches teammates the various management teams and my family and friends I couldnt have shown up as I did without your supportThis is not the end of my career as a Protea Im fully committed to whiteball cricket and representing my country to the best of my ability for the foreseeable future he addedMeanwhile Cricket South Africa Acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki congratulated De Kock on his exemplary careerIts sad to lose a player of Quintons calibre at what we still see as the prime of his career and relatively young life but family as we all say here at CSA is everything He has been a loyal and proud servant of the Proteas team for the last seven years and we are glad that we have not lost him from the game entirely Moseki saidWe value his contribution to the team as a leader and we are grateful for the time and energy that he has given the team in years passed We would like to wish him and Sasha all the best ahead of the birth of their little girl and we are excited to be gaining another member in our cricket family We look forward to seeing Quinton at his fighting best in white ball cricket he addedOverall it was an eventful carrer for De Kock who began 2021 as South Africas temporary Test captain and ended it by retiring from the formatThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever