Newly recovered Duminy just itching to get back into middle

JUST how much JP Duminy is itching to get back into the middle is made plain in a video interview in his Amsterdam hotel room.

In the short film, posted on the South African team’s YouTube channel yesterday, Duminy sits on his bed and shifts uneasily in response to an interviewer’s question.

“It’s actually been more than six months now; it’s been nearly seven months,” he says, eyes flashing with a glimpse of the frustration he has endured.

Duminy ruptured his Achilles tendon 203 days ago. The long road back began with surgery, inched through rehabilitation and then to solo practice sessions. On Tuesday, for the first time since that fateful evening in Brisbane, he was among his South African team-mates in the nets.

“I was a little bit nervy at first but it was great to be out there again spending time with the guys and facing competitive bowlers,” Duminy said. “That was the key thing for me, and it was a really good first net.

“After a six-month lay-off you’re worried about how it’s going to go and whether you are going to time the ball well.”

Despite the darkness of Duminy’s cloud, his silver lining is that the Proteas’ one-day middle order has not been the solid unit it was when he was the fulcrum. That has served to keep his place warm.

In the eight matches that comprised SA’s lost series against New Zealand and their desperate struggle to beat Pakistan, just three half-centuries were produced by players outside of the top four.

Duminy has proven his ability to set that record straight by scoring 11 of his 15 halfcenturies batting from No 5 down. But will he be able to do so coming in from the cold?

“Yes, I’m going in underdone in terms of match fitness,” Duminy said before the South African squad departed for Amsterdam. “But I’ve got to go in with the analogy of ‘best when fresh’. I’m fit and strong and good to go.”

He has had a month of increasingly intensive training and is a more rounded man — and potentially a better player — than before injury struck. “You look at yourself from an internal perspective and see where you can improve as a person. I’ve learnt a hell of a lot about myself over the last six months; things I’m good at outside of cricket.”