New ODI captain Quinton de Kock wants the Proteas to be street smart

The Proteas ODI side will have to follow the instinctive nature of new captain Quinton de Kock and become street smart.

In his first interview since he was announced as replacement for Faf du Plessis‚ De Kock said there would be plans and strategies but he wants the players to follow their instincts when they have to take decisions in the heat of the moment.

“I will come up with things on the field‚ sometimes you will have to make decisions on the go in the heat of everything‚” said De Kock who has captained SA in two T20s and two ODIs.

“There are a lot of different things that I need to do

"I will do a little bit of homework every now and then but most of the time I will keep it pretty street smart.

"We don’t always have to go with a certain plan but there will be some sort of planning that we will have to do and there will be Plan A and B.”

The 27-year-old De Kock added that the captaincy would not force him to give up the wicket-keeping gloves as he enjoys the added responsibility.

“No‚” was the straight answer when asked about performing the two duties.

“Batting and keeping wicket are extra responsibility and I enjoy that‚”

De Kock said he's learnt to be patient and to deal with strong characters from experienced Test captain Du Plessis.

“What I have learned from Faf is the amount of patience he has developed with the players‚" he said.

"Being captain you deal with a lot of high-profile players‚ guys with a lot of opinions and all those things.

"For him to have patience‚ he was able to deal with players and this helped him to grow as captain and as a person.

"I have seen him because he stands next to me as a wicketkeeper‚ that is what I have learned from him. That is the key thing that I have really learned from him.”

De Kock’s first assignment as full-time captain will be in the first of three ODIs against England on January 4 at Newlands‚ but he has the fourth and final Test at Wanderers on Friday to worry about.

“I feel the same‚ it’s the usual and nothing has really changed in my life quite yet‚" he said.

"I still have other responsibilities to deal with before we start thinking about the ODIs.

"The last Test match is very important for us and we would love to win and draw the series.

"In the context of the Test Championship‚ we still have a fair number of games to play and the more wins we get under our belt will make things easier.”

Asked about his ambitions of becoming Test captain in the future‚ De Kock said he was not sure.

“To be honest I am not too sure‚" he said.

"There are a lot of guys that are also well prepared to be Test captain.

"Temba (Bavuma) was vice to Faf‚ he has come back to the team after he scored some runs in franchise cricket and he is always going to be there.

"It is not up to me.

"It is entirely up to the coaches‚ Graeme Smith and all those guys.

"I don’t think I will push for it but if they want me to do it then I will do it to the best of my ability.”