Cricket World Cup: Aiden Markram insists South Africa will never 'clip wings' of Quinton de Kock

Aiden Markram has heaped praise on Quinton de Kock after South Africa's wicketkeeper-batter struck his third century at the World Cup in the victory over Bangladesh.

De Kock hit a superb 174 off 140 balls as the Proteas racked up a total of 382-5 before eventually beating the Tigers by a margin of 149 runs in Mumbai.

The gloveman's century followed up his hundred's against Sri Lanka and Australia earlier in the global tournament and he now sits at the top of the run-scoring charts.

De Kock has always been a stroke-maker at the top of the order but Markram, who has stood in as captain for the last two matches in the absence of Temba Bavuma, said there was more to the 30-year-old's game than sheer natural ability.

"We all know Quinton to be the free-spirited guy that he is, but he actually has a fantastic cricket brain on him," Markram told reporters after the Bangladesh victory.

"He assesses conditions really well and communicates that to us off the field even before we've walked out to bat.

"So, it adds a lot of value in that regard. And then you never want to clip his wings really. You just want to let him fly.

"He structures it the exact way he feels, and we back that completely as a unit."

The Proteas now sit second in the standings, behind host nation India, having won four of their five matches and looked well-placed to reach the play-offs with four league games still remaining.

Markram, however, insists they are not looking to far ahead with their next game against Pakistan in Chennai on Friday.

"I don't think you want to start trying to do maths this far out," Markram said. "There's still four games of cricket and that's potentially eight points up for grabs. That's what we're going to try to push for.

"I think if you start sitting and hoping for a result from this team and trying to work out 'we maybe only need two wins left' or whatever it is, I don't think that's a great place to be as a unit.

"So I'm sure we'll stay far away from that and focus on the very next game and try to back up performances that we've put in so far."

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