Pietersen's call to shake up the Proteas

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen says South Africa should have elevated Quinton de Kock to opener in the first Commonwealth Bank Test against Australia as the wicketkeeper-batsman continued his impressive recent form with the bat.

While the series is barely a day old, Proteas opener Stephen Cook is under some pressure to retain his spot at the top of the order having added a four-ball duck at the WACA Ground today to his scores of 5 and 12 earlier in the tour.

Playing just his fourth Test, Cook got the nod in the South African side ahead of highly-rated uncapped left-hander Rilee Rossouw, who averaged 77 in the recent one-day series against the Australians.

De Kock, a dashing left-hander who opens for the Proteas in one-day cricket, came to the crease on Thursday with the score 5-81 and top-scored with a blazing innings of 84.

The 23-year-old withstood a sustained short-ball attack from the Australians and while he played and missed on several occasions, he struck 11 boundaries and a six in a crucial 101-ball innings.

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Pietersen, the South African-born legend of England cricket, says de Kock could be South Africa's answer to Australia's aggressive opener David Warner.

"I think the one thing South Africa should have done in this Test, he should have opened the batting," Pietersen told Wide World of Sports during the lunch break, before de Kock had come to the crease.

Image Id: 1355119F057B4AD6A3887490BA3A7626 Image Caption: Pietersen (centre) with Steve Smith and Michael Clarke before play // Getty

"When Warner comes out, he's going to whack it (and) de Kock could have done the same this morning.

"He doesn't think too much, he keeps it very, very simple and in the nicest possible way - I'm not being condescending at all - he literally doesn't think too much about the game."

While a wicketkeeper opening the batting in Test cricket is far from unprecedented, it's rare for a gloveman to hold the role for any significant length of time.

Only four keepers in history have opened the batting in 20 or more Test innings; Indian great Farokh Engineer (48 innings), Pakistan's Imtiaz Ahmed (30), India's Nayan Mongia (24) and South African John Waite (24). India's Deep Dasgupta (11 innings) is the only gloveman this century to open more than 10 times.

De Kock is one of 84 keepers to open in a Test match, having opened alongside Cook in the second Test against New Zealand earlier this year when Dean Elgar was out injured, posting scores of 82 and 50.

And while he's relatively untested at the top of the order in the five-day game, he's already established himself as one of the world's best openers in 50-over cricket.

Having opened in all but three of his 69 ODIs for the Proteas, de Kock has already notched 11 centuries and averages 44 as a one-day opener.

Three-hundred of his 2850 ODI runs came in the recent five-match series against Australia, including a superb 178 from just 113 balls in the opening match.

While it remains to be seen if Pietersen gets his wish, respected South African broadcaster Neil Manthorp believes the current opening partnership of Cook and Elgar could be a weakness for the Proteas during the series.

Both players are renowned more for their defensive prowess than their ability to lift the run-rate, and both entered this Test with a career strike rate below 50, while de Kock's career strike rate is 72 runs per 100 balls.

Speaking on cricket.com.au's The Unplayable Podcast before the series began, Manthorp said the Proteas openers didn't have the match-winning ability the Australians enjoy courtesy of Warner.

"The opening pair are a little one-paced, they're quite slow," Manthorp said.

"I still think it's a problem for South Africa, If they don't lose a wicket in the first session but they're 60 for none, they can still be 120 for five from there.

"Whereas David Warner will always have that fear factor about him. If he bats the first session, Australia aren't going to be 60 for none."