De Kock joins long list of strange tales

The rumours started before play had even begun at The Wanderers. Quinton De Kock, it was touted, had been ruled out of South Africa’s pivotal third Test against England after sustaining a knee injury walking his dogs the previous afternoon.

Images of De Kock being dragged through the undergrowth by a pair of frisky Great Danes or giant Dobermans immediately sprung to mind.

This was surely too good to be true – a comedy sequence of events that had set in motion an epic 1,000-kilometre journey for Dane Vilas, his replacement, that had started with him catching a flight from Port Elizabeth, the Gautrain from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport and then a police escort to the ground to take his place in South Africa’s team. He arrived an hour after play had begun.

The truth, though, was even better. South Africa’s media officer had denied the shaggy dog line all day. But Dean Elgar apparently hadn’t been briefed on the cover story.

Not only did the opener fold under questioning, confirming De Kock had indeed been injured walking his dogs, he also revealed the said hounds were not strapping Great Danes or Dobermans but a pair of tiny Jack Russell terriers.

“Quinny was walking his dogs and he slipped and somehow twisted his knee. That’s basically it, he was walking his dogs. They were little Jack Russell sisters. It seems a very freak injury,” Elgar said.

Whether or not De Kock’s bizarre injury had a big impact on this first day here is unclear. South Africa finished it on 7-267, not a bad position considering most people – including curator Bethuel Buthalezi – seem to think 350 might be a match-winning first-innings score on a tricky Wanderers pitch.

Match Report: South Africa v England

What is without doubt, though, is De Kock has joined the list of unfortunate sportsmen who have succumbed to freakish injuries.

Former England seamer Derek Pringle, who ended up being the UK Daily Telegraph’s cricket correspondent after his playing career, still probably has the bragging rights to the most bizarre injury amongst cricketers.

Back in 1982, having been tasked with sorting the England team’s complimentary ticket allocation for the home series against Pakistan, Pringle injured his right shoulder opening a letter.

With the force of his movement breaking the seal seeing the chair underneath him collapse, Pringle was left prone and seeking urgent treatment.

Ben Stokes, too, broke his wrist punching a locker in frustration after being dismissed cheaply during an England T20 match against West Indies in Barbados in 2014.

Yet for the truly weird sporting injuries, football – that’s the English version – has no comparison.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stepney once famously broke his jaw berating his defenders. Dave Beasant, the first keeper to save a penalty in an FA Cup Final – for Wimbledon against Liverpool in 1988 – severed a tendon in his foot after dropping a jar of salad cream and attempting to break its fall by trapping it.

Then there was Richard Wright, another goalkeeper, this time for Everton in the 1990s – there’s surely a theme here – who damaged a shoulder falling out of his loft.

Not to be left out, other sports have joined the party. Baseball player Sammy Sosa once put his back out sneezing. Another baseball star, Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers, injured his wrist playing Guitar Hero. Then there was Lionel Simmons, the Sacremento Kings basketball star in the early 1990s who developed tendonitis in both his thumbs because of an addiction to his Ninetendo Gameboy.

So at least De Kock knows he’s not alone in becoming a sportsman who would rather we didn’t dwell on just how he managed to park himself on the sidelines. He’s in good company.