Gqeberha — JP Duminy did not have a fairytale ending to his career after the Proteas crashed out of the 2019 World Cup, but the 38-year-old has another shot at the elusive title, this time as a batting coach of the ODI and T20 team.
“Whenever you’re putting on green and gold, it’s always a privilege. I’m very excited to be back. I think more importantly it’s about trying to make an impact and be part of that significant process of passing on some wisdom and knowledge and just walking the journey with a lot of the players that are in the current team. I’m looking forward to it,” JP Duminy told the media on Friday.
With a smile on his face, Duminy spoke of his new role as an opportunity to help this new generation achieve what his generation could not.
He would have had his debut match as coach on Thursday in East London had persistent rain not caused the first ODI between the Proteas and the West Indies to be abandoned.
Together with him several youngsters would also have donned the green and gold for the first time on Thursday, Duminy revealed.
“Yes, there would have been one or two debuts on Thursday. There’s a likelihood that it will be very similar going into the second ODI, but I think the important thing is that we plan and make sure we cover all our bases. Most importantly, can we find the right combinations going forward over the next couple of months leading into the World Cup?” said Duminy.
“From time to time we are going to have to shuffle and there might be a fork in the road from time to time to go a different direction. It has thrown a spanner in the works, particularly in that first game, so we are going to have to shuffle around going forward in the next few games.”
Duminy recently left a head coach role in Paarl where he looked after the talents of the Boland region. He also had a stint in the SA20 as head coach of the Paarl Royals where he made his mark as an influential leader, a coach every player trusts and wants to play for.
His work at the Royals saw a struggling Jason Roy, an international superstar, turn things around in his career. Roy scored a century during the South Africa-England ODI series, only days after his stint with Duminy at the Royals. From there on Roy has been in sublime form with the bat for England.
This tenderness about Duminy’s personality and coaching philosophy, might just be what the youngsters in the current ODI squad need in order to loosen up and perform as they make a steep step up in their careers.
“When you think about any leadership position, the ability to influence and guide and mentor players or anyone in general, I think it’s an important trait to have. I think for me it’s more about walking a journey with people on an individual basis and I think the batting coach role emphasises that a lot more. For me it’s about the ability to earn the trust of every player every single day. No matter what we’re doing that’s my goal,” said Duminy.
“That’s my ambition to help these players go through different stages of their careers. There are a few younger guys in the group and they will want to stamp their authority on international cricket. Having gone through the experiences of that, the successes of that but also the failures of that, I think that’s the most important part and walking that journey is what I’m looking forward to.”
Like Duminy, Proteas coach Rob Walter has that open-mindedness about him in that he is keen to listen to what his coaching staff and players have to say. He decentralises power instead of holding on to it and this encourages Duminy to freely give back to the team that has given him so much over the years.
“In my conversations with him, as much as we have our specific areas to work on, there’s certainly going to be overlaps in terms of that assistant role, particularly when you don’t have a specified assistant coach,” said Duminy.
“The beauty of how Rob works is that he is very collaborative. He’s always asking questions about various situations that we need to make decisions on. He doesn’t see it as a sole purpose of himself but at the end of the day he has to make the final decisions. But what I enjoy about Rob, it’s always a collaborative approach. It’s a great formula for inclusivity and where we want to go as a unit,” concluded Duminy.
The second ODI between South Africa and the West Indies starts at 1pm on Saturday.
IOL Sport