Duminy’s heroics pushed into background
EXCEPT for the fact that he was dismissed, left-hander JP Duminy, who returned recently from a lengthy layoff caused by a serious Achilles tendon injury he suffered in Australia, had reason to be proud of his innings for SA in the first cricket Test against Pakistan, which started at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
But if he thought he was going to be able to expound on it, he was to be disappointed.
All anyone wanted to talk to him about after the opening day’s play in the series was Hashim Amla’s innings-saving 20th Test century.
Duminy’s 57 was a vital component of the Proteas’s fightback yesterday, after a shaky first session in which they lost both openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen and also SA’s middle-order linchpin, Jacques Kallis, and slipped to 46/3 inside the first hour.
However, Amla’s 118 not out was the main reason that the visitors will be able to resume batting today in the reasonable, if not strong, position of 245/8.
“It’s immense,” was how Duminy described Amla’s contribution to the Proteas’s effort. “Just to watch the powers of concentration he has is phenomenal.”
Amla faced 250 balls in sewing an almost seamless quilt of calm that he seemed to toss casually over an SA innings that blew hot and cold.
Asked if having to bat with Amla deep in his Zen zone was unnerving or inspiring, Duminy said:
“It does rub off (on you). We’ve got a good camaraderie going.
“There are always a couple of jokes going on out there.
“He’s a very relaxed character —when he comes to the middle of the pitch (for a chat) he’s always drag- ging his bat and it may look like his intent is not there.
“But he’s ready when he has to face the ball. All he needs is a sip of lukewarm water and a towel on his head and he’s good to go.”
Amla did not talk to the media, but he tweeted, “(It) was a tough day for all of us but let’s hope we can have a good one tomorrow. Well played, JP Duminy.”
How much longer Amla will be able to keep the faith today is probably dependent on how long Dale Steyn’s patience lasts.
Steyn, who will resume on 13, has a highest Test score of 76, which he made against Australia in 2008-09, and he is among the better No 10s in Test cricket.
Morne Morkel, too, is at the higher end of the scale when it comes to Test No 11s and their ability to bat.
But SA’s batsmen won’t want to leave the task of scoring runs and occupying the crease to their bowlers too often and Duminy was under no illusion that they had not been at their best yesterday.
“We are definitely behind the eight-ball,” he said. “We tend to lose wickets up front and towards the end of the day, and that’s what happened again here.”
Duminy’s removal an hour after tea was a case in point. He tried to sweep a delivery from Zulfiqar Babar and hit it straight at Asad Shafiq stationed a few metres deeper and wider from square leg’s traditional position.
Not for the first time, SA will look to their bowlers to fill the hole their batsmen have dug.
They will be heartened to know Duminy has faith in them, not least because his off-spin bowling will be part of the plan.
“The new ball is tricky in the first session and, having the bowling lineup we have, you’ve got to back us to do a great job,” he said.