Old mates Shu-Aib and JP join up in charity project
“I REMEMBER when we were planning our parties after a day’s play, there was JP and his dad taking down the video camera and getting ready to analyse his innings.”
That is Cape Town City goalkeeper Shuaib Walters’s earliest memory of Proteas batsman and Cape Cobras captain JP Duminy. Walters and Duminy, of course, share a long history, with both Cape Town sports stars having attended Plumstead High School.
Duminy, who is three years Walters’s junior, played together in the Plumstead High School First XI cricket team, where they shared a dressingroom with another Protea in Rory Kleinveldt.
But even back then, Walters could see there was something different about the quiet, even shy, but seriously talented young left-hander who was already scoring the bulk of the team’s runs.
“Obviously football was my main focus, but I enjoyed my cricket. But here was this little guy who just made the game look so easy. He was so focused. His dad would film all his innings. They would then go home and analyse every ball. It was immense dedication from both him and his dad,” Walters said after returning from Durban where City lost a “home” game 4-2 to Maritzburg United on Tuesday night.
“It just shows the role parents play in a sportsman’s development. Obviously, you mustn’t push your child too hard and it can’t be a one-way show. It has to be mutual. But I am sure JP is thanking his dad now for all the hours he dedicated to JP’s development.”
After all these years that have passed by, the duo are teaming up again later this month. Walters is one of the “celebrity” players assisting Duminy with his JP21 Super Eights Charity Cricket day set to be held at the exclusive Val de Vie Estate on December 17.
Fellow Proteas AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel and captain Faf du Plessis will also be involved on the day, which will comprise fun-filled and unique eight-over games.
However, the day is about so much more than that. The JP21 Project, the brainchild of Duminy and his wife Sue, and established in 2014 has made significant strides in reigniting enthusiasm for cricket and providing the platform to do so for underprivileged children, especially in the areas of Strandfontein and Mitchells Plain.
When approached to get involved in the JP21 Super Eights Charity Cricket Day by Duminy’s manager Jamaine Cloete – another Plumstead High School product – Walters simply had to agree.
“Besides going to the same school, JP and I have many more things in common. We come from similar areas. He was raised in Strandfontein and I was reared in Grassy Park. It is a similar culture.
“We know where we come from and we were taught by our parents to give back. And that’s what JP is doing and I am also busy with a football foundation at the moment where we’re taking a group of underprivileged kids to Europe.
“I can only imagine that is what the JP21 Project is holistically about. Because that is what we are certainly trying to achieve. It is about broadening children’s horizons... regardless of where you come from and what situation you find yourself in, that is not the end of your story. Children’s eyes must be opened so that they know the world is so much bigger than just the narrow streets they live in. Once they are filled with that belief they can achieve anything.” Independent Media is the official media partner for the JP21 Super Eights Charity Cricket TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR THE JP21 SUPER EIGHTS CHARITY CRICKET http://bit.ly/JP21SuperEights_Tickets Official Event Hashtags: #JP21SuperEights #SuperEights