Quinton de Kock named South Africa's Test skipper ahead of home series against Sri Lanka

Quinton de Kock will be leading South Africa in the upcoming home Test series against Sri Lanka that gets underway on December 26 i.e. during 'Boxing Day'. The wicket-keeper batsman was named South Africa's white-ball captain last season and when the then skipper Faf du Plessis had relinquished captaincy from all three formats, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Director of Cricket Graeme Smith did not wish to consider QDK as a captain in the longest format as he reckoned that the southpaw would be over-burdened with Test captaincy along with leading his team from the front in the limited-overs. 

However, ahead of the upcoming series, they have decided to give de Kock a chance to prove his mettle as a captain in red-ball cricket as well.

Sri Lanka tour of South Africa

A two-day practice match will be played before the commencement of the two-match Test series. Sri Lanka will be facing Cricket South Africa Invitation XI at the Willowmoore Park in Benoni from December 20-22. 

The focus then shifts to the Test matches as Quinton will be leading the 'Rainbow Nation' in the first Test at Centurion ( December 26-30). The second and final Test will be played at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg from 3-7 January 2021. The Test series will form part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship.

READ: South Africa Vs England: Three-match ODI Series Called Off Due To COVID-19 Fears

SA Vs Eng ODI series cancelled due to COVID-19 fear

Meanwhile, the recent three-match home ODI series between South Africa and England had to be called off due to coronavirus fear. The SA vs ENG 1st ODI was pushed back from its originally scheduled starting date of December 4, to Sunday, December 6 after a player from the South African camp tested positive for the Coronavirus. Both the South Africa Cricket Board and the English Cricket Board announced that they had taken the decision unanimously, "In the interests of the safety and well-being of both teams, match officials, and all involved in the match". 

However, on Sunday, Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed that two members of England's touring party have returned with unconfirmed positive tests for COVID-19 after the cancellation of the 1st ODI against England. 

The second ODI was originally scheduled to be held on Monday but the governing body of world cricket, i.e. the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially confirmed that the three-match series has been canceled.

"The decision was taken jointly by the two boards to ensure the mental and physical health and welfare of players from both teams. A decision will be made between the boards as to when the series will now take place", the statement read.

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(Image Courtesy: ICC Twitter)