Duffy impresses as a good keen southern man
If you were watching the Black Caps have their first net session of the week ahead of today’s Twenty20 against Pakistan at Eden Park, you’d have been forgiven for thinking Jacob Duffy was a batsman, not a bowler.
The Southlander has faced only 70 balls in his nine years playing domestic Twenty20 matches for the Volts, but would have gone close to facing half as many more on this occasion, spending almost half an hour with willow in hand.
If he makes a contribution with the bat tonight, he will be able to have a laugh and say all that practice came in handy, but what it made plain to see was his enthusiasm at being included in a Black Caps squad for the first time.
It’s been eight years since Duffy made his Volts debut as a 17-yearold, and his journey to this point has had its ups and downs.
He’s in the squad for today’s match only, with test seamers Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee returning to the fold for games two and three, but if the Black Caps go in with a four-strong pace attack, as they did when they played the West Indies at the same venue three weeks ago, he will make his debut.
If that happens, he will look back at the intervention his Volts coaches made four years ago, forcing him to remodel his bowling action after spotting that he was falling away in the direction of cover, rather than standing tall as he arrived at the crease.
‘‘Rob Walter and Anton Roux sat me down – they hadn’t seen a lot of me, but they knew something was a bit off – and I went back to the drawing board and missed a lot of cricket one summer, and honestly, that’s turned my career around,’’ Duffy said.
‘‘I’m forever grateful to those guys for seeing something like that. It was a massive turning point in my career and I’ve just been chipping away ever since.’’
As he made his Volts debut while still at Southland Boys’ High School, it feels like Duffy has been around forever, but he’s only 26, so there are likely to be more opportunities for him in the future.
One thing is for certain: He won’t be overawed if he does find himself charging in at Eden Park.
‘‘I think it’s just about keeping doing what I’ve been doing to get here, I guess,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve got a particular brand of cricket I like to play and things that have worked for me in the last few years, so I’ll just be sticking to my guns and just trying to be me and hopefully my best is good enough to do well out there.’’
So, how about that net then? How did he end up putting so much practice in for a task that is unlikely to come this way?
‘‘I dunno, mate. My name was on the list, so I stuck in there while I got a chance,’’ Duffy said.
‘‘I haven’t batted that long in a long time, so I thought I’d make the most of it while the sun’s shining.’’