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 JP can lean on likes of 'Gogga'
    February 11 2009 at 10:27AM Get IOL on your
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As much as it pains me to say it, South Africa is a rugby-mad nation.

Its victories are celebrated well into the night, while defeats are treated as national disasters.

The Springboks are regarded as heroes by millions and worshipped across the land.

Cricketers, unfortunately, do not hold the same sort of status among sports fans in the Republic.

The Proteas are loved, respected and honoured, but are not consistently bombarded with invitations to social functions, media requests, etc.

With all due respect to Albie Morkel, he could possibly get away with going to the movies at the Waterfront without being interrupted on too many occasions.
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It's not like Joost van der Westhuizen, who once said his favourite holiday destination was Disneyland, purely because nobody recognises him.

So when an individual within the Proteas ranks does get caught up in the spotlight like JP Duminy has over the past two months, it really is something to behold.

I can only think of one other Protea since unity who has enjoyed a similar sort of adoration like Duminy is currently enjoying. He is, of course, fellow Capetonian and Duminy's former Cape Cobras teammate Paul Adams.

"Gogga" spun a web around the English in 1995-96 and everybody wanted a piece of the Paul Adams pie.

It was a media rollercoaster that had never before been seen in South African cricket.

Fame and fortune followed Adams and everything he touched turned to gold. Lucrative sponsors clamoured to be part of the Gogga brand and he even had a biography published after his first season.

Adams took a long time to get used to all the media attention. Admittedly, he was only 18 years old and straight out of school, but Gogga placed a lot of pressure on himself to perform to everybody's lofty expectations every time he played for South Africa.

That he was always compared to Shane Warne, in the same way that Duminy is now regarded as "the next Brian Lara", did not help either.

While I know Duminy is six years older and is a lot better equipped to handle these types of situations, the same sort of pressure is now on his shoulders.

After his heroics in Australia, everybody now expects him to score at least a half-century when he walks to the crease.

He probably expects nothing less from himself, but the pressure will mount when he doesn't.

And, yes, it's rich coming from a media representative who calls Duminy a "superstar", but that is also why I'm writing this column.

There will come a time when he fails, or is injured, and I'm not trying to rain on his parade now, but international cricketers do go through such periods - even the greats.

Just ask Graeme Smith, Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis if it's easy recovering from tennis elbow.

Duminy is in the fledgling stages of his Test career.

Fortunately he's made the best of starts, but when the chips are down, he is going to need the support of the very same people who are now singing his praises.

His every performance in the Indian Premier League will be also scrutinised with a microscope.

Those Indian billionaires did not part with $950 000 for no reason. They will surely want a hefty return on their investment.

Fortunately for Duminy, he will have Adams's experience and a few other companions close by when those difficult times do arise.

Hopefully the first situation is not when he's told that he's missing out on the first Test against Australia at the Wanderers, because that would just be a travesty.

My cricketer of the week

Jerome Taylor. The Jamaican breathed fresh life into West Indies cricket with a scintillating display of fast bowling in the first Test against England.

The little man's "fifer" played a huge role in the visitors being dismissed for just 51.

zaahier.adams@inl.co.za

    • This article was originally published on page 13 of Cape Times on February 11, 2009
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