Duminy spells Doom

Australia should have never had to have their backs to their wall. But they did. Here’s why.

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That should not have happened given that South Africa had practically nowhere to go reduced to 198 for seven at the end of the second day. With the young Jean Paul Duminy, who made his debut in Perth, South Africa could still not have expected so much. Duminy, to his credit, replaced vice captain Ashwell Prince who was sitting out injured, with a brave half century in the second innings to see South Africa home to a famous victory chasing 414.

Once again Duminy was standing in a prominent position, only this time the pressure was even more enormous in the fact that South Africa had sunk deep into the marshy pond and they would need more than a lifeline. But the lifeline did come and South Africa were not only rescued but managed to turn the tables on their clueless, hapless hosts.

Paul Harris, with thirty-nine to his name, provided good support to Duminy as did Dale Steyn after him. When Harris departed with the score on eight for 251, South Africa are avoided the follow on but were still too far behind for Australia to be worried. Australia, on their part, would have hoped that they would not be bowling for more than an hour or at the most till lunch to prize out the three remaining wickets and ensure they had a lead somewhere in the thereabouts of a 100.

But Australia did not plan on grinding out an entire day trying to polish off the South African tail. But Australia had another thing coming.

Duminy played like a veteran. His calm demeanour was evident at the WACA and once more in exemplary evidence at the MCG. Given the situation, any young man would have been trembling in his knees. But Duminy went about with a composure, not in awe of the situation or the opposition, that would earn the praise of the best in the business. He kept the score board tickling, rarely bogged down and almost effortlessly combined with the tailenders, alternatively nursing them and shielding them.

South Africa will have a happy headache after this match because after this performance, even with Ashwell Prince recovered, the visitors will find it hard to tinker with the team composition as also keep a man in such an ominous vein out of the third and final Test at the SCG in Sydney.

But coming back to the match situation itself, the 180 run partnership forged between Dale Steyn and Duminy for the ninth wicket was the third best in cricketing history and completely wiped out Australia’s first innings total. Duminy played his shots but when he decided to slow down, perhaps more out of weariness, it did not stop the scoring as Steyn quickly shifted gears from defending to getting onto the offensive and playing with shots with some authority that saw him make seventy-six and always looking like he could go on. The partnership even changed the advantage in the match as South Africa gained a vital sixty-five run lead.

Back to you, Australia.

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