Hash is back but no Duminy for Cobras
HASHIM Amla may be back for the Cape Cobras, but JP Duminy will miss the start of the CSA T20 Challenge series.
That was the bitter-sweet news that greeted Cobras coach Ashwell Prince this week. But while Prince will now obviously now need to sit and reformulate his plans for the tournament, it has far reaching consequences on a national level.
Duminy is an integral part of the Proteas’ plans for the World Cup in England in a couple of months time.
He recently returned from a lengthy shoulder injury and made an immediate impact with the willow, particularly in the T20I series against Sri Lanka where he struck a couple of breezy cameos.
However, it was apparent that the shoulder was not 100 percent – which Duminy admitted to – and now Cricket South Africa have put the all-rounder back on a rehabilitation programme.
“JP is not available because CSA feel that he’s shoulder is not where they would like it to be in terms of strength. There is going to be a block of 3-4 weeks of strengthening for him. He might join us at the backend of the competition,” Prince said.
Amla, though, will be playing his first game on Sunday when the Cobras face-off against the Highveld Lions at the Wanderers since March 1. The lengthy break from the game has been due to Amla being at the bed-side of his ill father.
In his absence, the Proteas have given opportunities to Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen. The latter has certainly taken full advantage with a steady string of scores in both the T20I and ODI format for the national team, and should have done enough to warrant selection for the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Markram has not quite fulfilled his huge potential in the ODI format, but has blazed away in the domestic 1-Day Cup for the Titans to maintain the pressure on the national selectors. Equally, Hendricks has played some timely innings just when the door seemed to be shutting on him.
So, where does that leave Amla? “I still think there is a place for somebody to bat through the innings, and he is well capable of doing that. If he bats through the innings at a 120/130 strike rate, it allows other more natural ball strikers to play their game around him,” Prince said.
Prince believes he just needs to spend time in the middle and the “Mighty#” will be back in the groove.