Duminy confident of good show in Champions Trophy

South Africa batsmen Jean-Paul Duminy has returned to the national squad for the Champions Trophy. He played his last ODI in September 2012 against England. He left to Australia for Big Bash League in the month of December. He, unfortunately, sustained an injury and hence he was out of action for six months. But his return to the Proteas squad will strengthen the middle order. It also provides the option for fifth bowler to South Africa captain AB de Villers.

“It’s been a long road but I’ve learnt a lot about myself,” Duminy told before the departure for Champions Trophy. “When you’re out of the game for so long, you find out new things about yourself because you are focusing outside of cricket.”

Duminy is expected to bat in middle order as Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith will miss the Champions Trophy. But there is a shred of doubt whether he would be able to score the runs as he hasn’t played Cricket for six months. It seems that David Miller will be the best option ahead of Duminy.

However, Duminy is not bothered about the critics and is confident of a good performance in England. “It’s hard to say I’m worried about form because I’ve got nothing to go by. I’ve got to go out there, thinking best when fresh” he said. “I am confident I can produce the goods I have in the past. I’ve played my role pretty well over the last few years so it’s just about slotting back in there.”

He also had a good net session yesterday. “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,” he 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. So I was pretty pleased with the way it went.”

Duminy has got an opportunity to regain his form as South Africa play two warm-up games prior to the main competition. “The expectation on us is similar to what it has always been and we want to win,” he said. “But there are no guarantees that we will win. We want to do our best and hopefully that best is that we will come back with the trophy.”

It’s tough to say we’ve accepted those defeats better because there is no easy way to do that. What we have to make sure is that our self-belief is not stamped on. We still believe in ourselves as people and as a team and we know we will get there at some stage. Eventually the hard work will pay off. “If things don’t go well, the sun will still rise, life will still go on.”