Quinton de Kock better than Adam Gilchrist after 12 Tests

South Africa wicket keeping batsman Quinton de Kock has solidified his status of being a record-breaking cricketer. The left-hander, who is just 23, has already achieved some feats that even the legend of the games could not achieve during their time. Australian fans are fast becoming accustomed to South Africa’s wicketkeeper marching in to bat at No.7 and causing all sorts of problems for the Aussie bowlers – or doing the same as an opener in the one-day and T20 formats.

Many experts including former England batsman Kevin Pietersen have called for a promotion for him in the batting order. But keeping in mind his extraordinary record, The Proteas management will not be in the mood to promote him to the top from his current No.7 position.

Here’s a look at some incredible stats racked up by de Kock following his superb century in Hobart – which came in just his 12th Test match.

5 Consecutive fifties in Tests

When de Kock raised his bat to celebrate a half-century in the second Test against Australia, he probably wasn’t aware of the extremely rare feat he’d just achieved.

The 23-year-old had in fact become just the third wicketkeeper in the history of Test cricket to reach 50 in five consecutive innings.

De Kock joins Pakistan’s Sarfraz Ahmed (in 2014) and former Zimbabwe captain and England coach Andy Flower (in 2000) in the exclusive club. Flower is all on his own on seven consecutive half-centuries – the equal-most by any player in Test history.

Comparisons with Adam Gilchrist:

Quinton de Kock batting style has drawn comparison with Australian great Adam Gilchrist. A hard-hitting, left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman who broke several record in the limited-overs cricket before eventually earning the Test cap, de Kock’s career is on a similar path to Gilchrist’s.

This is de Kock’s 12th Test and his batting numbers, for a No.7, are simply remarkable. He has scored 824 runs at an average of 54.93, with six half-centuries and two hundreds.After 12 Tests in his career, Gilchrist had scored 746 runs at an average of 53.28 with six half-centuries and one hundred.

Behind the wickets

De Kock’s glove work has also been outstanding in this series so far. He has had a error free time behind the stumps until now. These factors again put him in comparison with other great wicketkeepers. How good is he when compared to other legends when they were of the his age?

Wicket keeping numbers can always be a bit deceptive as the quality of a gloveman depends on many things that can’t be measured. The things that can be measured, such as catches and stumpings, are heavily dictated by the bowlers and batsmen before the ball reaches the wicketkeeper.

De Kock has taken 42 catches and two stumpings, for a total of 44 dismissals at an average of 2.10 dismissals per innings. Gilchrist, by way of comparison, had 51 catches and four stumpings from his first 12 Tests, for a total of 55 dismissals at an average of 2.29 per innings.

Here’s a look at some other notable wicketkeepers after 12 Tests.

MS Dhoni (India): 36 catches, eight stumpings, 2.00 dismissals per innings

Mark Boucher (South Africa): 59 catches, two stumpings, 2.77 dismissals per innings

Ian Healy (Australia): 25 catches, two stumpings, 1.23 dismissals per innings