Cape Town – His cover drive is one of the most revered in the modern game, but JP Duminy hasn’t translated that into sustained success in Test cricket.
That has been a bit of a sporting tragedy for Capetonians who have followed his career closely ever since he made his first-class debut as a 17-year-old Plumstead High matric pupil in 2001 for Western Province.
His growth in ODI and T20 cricket has been well documented, but it is in the purest form of the game that the left-hander has come up short. But a strong mitigating factor – which he pointed out following his stunning 155 against Sri Lanka this week – was having to come in at No 6 and 7 for most of his career in the five-day game.
And how he got to that point also needs to be spelled out. Having made his ODI debut as a 20-year-old in 2004, he had to wait another four years before his Test bow. That was in stark contrast to his SA Under-19 teammate AB de Villiers, who played his first Test in 2004.
The problem with that selection was that at the time, Duminy averaged over 72 in first-class cricket, while De Villiers had a mark of around 45. Who knows where Duminy would’ve been today if he had been picked ahead of De Villiers, as he should’ve been?
The impact of that selection call can still be felt today, as it meant that Duminy had to wait until this season to bat regularly at his preferred No 4 position – ironically due to De Villiers’ injury-enforced absence.
And it has made the world of difference. Suddenly he looks like the prodigious talent that thrilled an appreciative MCG crowd during the Boxing Day Test in 2008, when he hit that spectacular 166 to set up a memorable series victory.
Having to bat with the tail instead of Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis for most of your career is a totally different challenge. And it nearly ended Duminy’s Test career, as he battled to adapt to such a role.
Of course, there is no denying that his average of 32.62 in 41 Tests (before the current Wanderers game) is simply not good enough, and especially for a man of Duminy’s ability. And he knew it too, which is why he considered quitting the five-day arena after being dropped from the team for the New Year’s Test against England at Newlands last January.
But scoring a double hundred soon after that for the Cape Cobras changed his mind, and things have fallen into place for him to occupy the No 4 slot since the August series against New Zealand. Duminy has scored 559 runs in 13 innings this season – an average of 43 – and it is the attacking mindset that has been most impressive.
He is playing like he did when he first burst on to the scene, with positive footwork and not allowing spinners to settle. He scored an 88 against New Zealand, and a hundred against Australia and Sri Lanka.
Duminy seems to have finally thrown off the shackles that saw all that self-doubt creep into his mind in the past – he has come of age in Test cricket.
De Villiers’ absence has certainly helped, as Duminy hasn’t had to worry about the axe that has almost always hovered around his head. But the former skipper is about to return to action in a few weeks, and is likely to feature on the Test tour to New Zealand.
It is unlikely to be Duminy’s spot that’s in danger, though. And with his fitness as good as ever, the 32-year-old will hope that he can now finally carve out a substantial Test career over the next few seasons, and fulfil the prodigious talent that he possesses.