Gom july '14 issue 08 j p duminy

J P Duminy The Rise And Rise

Times they are a-changing in South African cricket. The legendary trio consisting of Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and captain Graeme Smith has retired over the last two years. With them these three players took years of experience at the highest level.

And that’s not all: they also formed the core leadership of the South African cricket team.

jean-paul duminy

The Rise Words by Kobus Pretorius, Photos by Gallo Images for CSA & Kobus Pretorius

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Game On Magazine, July/August: Issue 08, 2014

Athlete SPORTING Feature: Cricket

It is now time for those who have been left behind to soldier on and make their own history; a history without the likes of Kallis, Boucher and Smith. Hashim Amla is the new Test captain, and AB de Villiers continues to lead the ODI side.

Joining them as the leadership core of the Proteas is Faf du Plessis, the T20 captain, fast bowler Dale Steyn, and JP Duminy.

While it was essentially a three-way race between Amla, De Villiers and Du Plessis for the test captaincy, a name that also popped up during the process was that of Duminy.

At 30 years of age Duminy is an experienced player and a senior member of the squad. He is currently regarded as one of the best T20 batsmen in the world after another successful stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and will be one of the key batsmen for the national side going forward.

“There is no doubt that Hashim (Amla) is the best man for the captaincy position,” says Duminy.

“He will do a great job. Captaincy is definitely something that I would like to consider, not necessarily for South Africa, but captaincy is definitely something that I would like to take on; whether it’s for an IPL team or a franchise team. Hopefully in the future I will get that opportunity. I am enjoying being one of the senior guys in the team. It’s a lot more responsibility and I think it’s brought out the best in me. Look, it’s only been a short while, but I definitely see a lot of great things coming, especially from a personal point of view,” Duminy muses optimistically.

Duminy says being thought of as one of the best T20 batsmen in the world is flattering.

“At the end of the day all you try and do is your best and to contribute to a team. As much as I contributed to a team (Delhi Daredevils) in the IPL, it was in a losing cause so it doesn’t really stand out that much, apart from one or two games. It’s always flattering to hear those kinds of things, but you want to make contributions to a winning team.

Hopefully that will fall into place in the near future.”

With Kallis and Smith retiring, Duminy will have an even bigger role to play in the new-look batting line-up of the Test side. He, together with Amla, De Villiers and Du Plessis, will form the backbone of the batting order in both Tests and ODIs.

AND Rise

OF jean-paul duminy Duminy succesfully completed a tour with the Proteas in Sri Lanka, the country where he made his ODI debut 10 years ago, and where he recently helped the national team win both the Test and ODI series.

He says his performances in the IPL have given him confidence which he can hopefully take into the other formats of the game as well. At 30 he is at his peak from a batsman’s point of view and hopefully with a little more responsibility on his shoulders he will become one of the best batsmen in the world.

Game On Magazine, July/August: Issue 08, 2014

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J P Duminy The Rise And Rise

Batting and fielding averages Mat

Inns

NO

Runs

HS

Ave

BF

SR

100

50

4s

6s

Ct

St

Tests

24

38

6

1111

166

34.71

2515

44.17

3

5

128

8

17

0

ODIs

118

109

23

3306

150*

38.44

3953

83.63

3

18

210

47

48

0

T20Is

55

50

14

1342

96*

37.27

1078

124.48

0

7

105

42

22

0

First-class

83

134

22

5435

200*

48.52

11007

49.37

16

27

58

0

List A

176

157

28

4937

150*

38.27

6094

81.01

4

33

61

0

Twenty20

170

161

49

4214

99*

37.62

3462

121.72

0

27

57

0

315

134

SidebarS The new generation of Duminys JP has two younger half brothers, Joffre and Jacques, who excel at both cricket and squash. Jacques was the number 1 ranked Under-11 squash player in South Africa last year and he is looking to reach the same heights at Under-13 level this year.

Joffre says he enjoys cricket a bit more at the moment. “We practise it a lot more. I use squash to better my fitness.”

Jacques prefers squash. “I’ve played it longer. I haven’t really played a lot of cricket.”

Learning from JP “I have learnt a lot about technique, batting-wise, from JP,” says Joffre.

I love to field and I’ve learnt a few tricks from JP in that regard as well.”

JP on his dad John: “My dad motivated us from a young age to give our best on the field and make sure that we prepare well and try and be as professional as possible. He has always taught us to be humble in our approach; not only in cricket or squash but also in life. He has never tried to live his life through us. He just wants the best for us.

“I look back to when I was their (Joffre’s and Jacques’) respective ages and I never believed or thought that I could play professional cricket, but my dad was always the one who knew or rather believed that I could. Only when I received a professional contract in matric did I start believing it. Once that happened it sort of became reality for me. It was a long road. I was probably not the hardest of workers when I was younger; I was very lazy, believe it or not. Only later on in my career did I actually catch on to that professionalism on a personal level.”

Both boys are batsmen and enjoy playing squash against their famous brother. “We make him run a bit,” jokes Joffre. Joffre plays for the Rondebosch Under-15A side and though he will be Under-17 next year, his goal is to make the first team.

Joffre (right) and Jacques Duminy playing squash

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Game On Magazine, July/August: Issue 08, 2014

Athlete SPORTING Feature: Cricket

Sidebar

Guiding his brothers “With the Proteas travelling as much as we do I don’t get to see a lot of them. I’ve watched them once or twice. There’s a lot of talent there, that I can say. That’s where my dad is so key. He keeps their feet on the ground, in both cricket and squash. That’s going to be important going forward. There are so many influences as a young boy, especially in terms of the people you surround yourself with. It’s important for them to stay level-headed. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs throughout my career and to share that knowledge with them in going to be vital. Especially from a cricketing perspective. As a batsman you go through more downs than ups. The best in the world only score one out of three times, so there are going to be dark days, no doubt, but sharing those experiences with them is going to be important and how they deal with it.”

Joffre Duminy on life after school: “I would like to be a professional sportsman after school. I take my sport very seriously. I would like to follow in JP’s footsteps, but I also want to make my own as well. I would like some guidance along the way.”

Jacques Duminy on squash: “I like playing with my friends and going on tour. My next goal will be to become the number 1 Under-13 player in the country.”

Game On Magazine, July/August: Issue 08, 2014

47