Zaahier Adams
NOVEMBER 9, 2012. JP Duminy is left sprawling out on the Gabba outfield clutching his heel in pain. An innocuous after-play warm-down sees Duminy roll his ankle and rupture his Achilles tendon while running with a rugby ball, resulting in a six-month layoff from the game.
September 30, 2014. Just over two years have passed since the freak injury, but circumstances are so different now for the 30-year-old.
The sun is fighting its way through some clouds that are covering Table Mountain to shine gloriously on the little left-hander who has made good – so good in fact that he has been tasked with leading the Proteas in a T20 series against Australia in a couple of months.
“I certainly wasn’t laying there thinking that I would captain the Proteas any time soon,” Duminy told the Cape Times.
“In fact, even after the injury had healed, all I was thinking of was getting back as quickly as I could. There obviously was doubt that crept in, about my ability to play at that level, but getting that 150, even though it was against Holland, in my first game back really helped my confidence.
“I think from there I just continued building on my performances across all formats. The captaincy has certainly come at the right time. It is something I really want, it is something that I feel I am ready for. I think having gone through those experiences while I was injured has certainly helped me prepare for this role.
“I don’t know whether I will be any good at it though, and only time will tell whether I will be successful, but at least I know I have given it a good shot,” he added.
Duminy will deputise for Faf du Plessis, and if his new hipster “comb-over” hairstyle that mirrors Du Plessis’s is anything to go by, he will certainly be a good fit. There won’t be an AB de Villiers or Hashim Amla either to bounce ideas off though, with a group of newcomers joining Duminy for the T20 leg of the tour to Australasia.
Knights batting duo Reeza Hendricks and Rilee Rossouw will be tasked with posting runs on the scoreboard in the absence of De Villiers and Amla, while Highveld Lions teenage pace sensation Kagiso Rabada has also received his first official national call-up.
“There are a few new faces which make for exciting times. It is always nice to get your first call-up, and while there is obviously not a lot of emphasis on T20s in a World Cup year, you know if there are a few injuries, then there could be opportunities in the one-day team. So, performances are going to be important in this series,” Duminy said.
But what about Rabada? Surely having the responsibility of guiding a 19-year-old seamer in his first international series, especially with it being against the Aussies in their backyard, will be something special?
“His attitude is really good, which makes it easier. He has gelled nicely with the team (while being a non-playing member of the squad in Zimbabwe) and he certainly has a bright future. He has out-and-out raw pace, which is always exciting for a captain and a trumpcard in our team. Obviously he is still young and we will have to monitor his workload.”
Meanwhile, the Proteas one-day squads for the New Zealand and Australian series that precede and follow the T20 series was largely unchanged after their success on the recent tour to Zimbabwe, with Vernon Philander the only major inclusion after returning from injury.
The Cape Cobras seamer takes over from Mthokozisi Shezi in the only change to the squad that won the tri-series against the Zimbabweans and Australia.
“The squad for the World Cup is almost finalised. I think, barring one or two injuries and a few coming back from injury, there are 17 or 18 players that pretty much confirm they will be the players who will be going,” the Proteas chairman of selectors Andrew Hudson tol Sapa.
The selection chief, however, insisted the door was not entirely closed on players who stand out in the forthcoming domestic one-day competition, which starts next month.