South Africa's limited-overs captain Quinton de Kock is waiting for the return of "serious cricket" in the sight so that he can hit the nets for batting practice again.
Professional cricket, domestically and internationally, has been halted since March for the Proteas, who were there in India for an ODI series which was later suspended in wake of the health threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The players have only just returned to training after being confined to their homes for a long time. For De Kock, though, the break from the proper net session is still ongoing.
"I haven't done anything. Obviously, I've kept up with fitness. I've done my training in the gym but I haven't hit a ball yet. There's still so much time until the next serious cricket game is going to happen," ESPNcricinfo quoted the wicketkeeper batsman as saying.
"So to go back to serious training, I don't know when it needs to happen. I mean, you can go back to hitting balls, for now. But we could actually be hitting balls for no reason. That's where I feel I'm at," he added.
De Kock, who was named cricketer of the year in a virtual ceremony for the Cricket South Africa (CSA) awards, will be seen batting on the field, however, when he captains one of the three sides that will take part in CSA's '3TCricket' competition for the Solidarity Cup.
The match due to be played for 36 overs, with each eight-member team batting 12 overs divided into two halves, will be played in Centurion on July 18, the Nelson Mandela International Day.
Considered a nice opportunity for players to regain at least some cricket under their belt, the match will see AB de Villiers and Kagiso Rabada leading the other two sides.
