Ken Borland

JP Duminy is excited by the extra responsibility heading his way, serving as a key lower middle-order batsman, second spinner and senior figure in the changeroom as the South African cricket team head to Sri Lanka on their first tour without the stalwart triumvirate of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher.

In fact, the 30-year-old feels that the increase in responsibility has not been a sudden thing: Duminy has gradually been taking on more and more of a senior role in the South African team, becoming a key player as his batting and bowling have grown to maturity.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge, but it hasn’t just started now. It started a few months ago already, especially when Graeme retired. There’s already been added responsibilities, definitely in the shorter formats, and I think it brings the best out of me and my game.

“But this season will determine whether I can sustain that, but I think I’ve played enough cricket now to know what leadership is about,” Duminy said yesterday at the Cricket South Africa Centre of Excellence in Pretoria, where the Proteas were having a two-day fitness camp.

Duminy admitted that the Proteas have been stung by the loss of their number one Test ranking to Australia and he said they needed to start strongly in the three-match ODI series that precedes the two Tests against Sri Lanka.

“Obviously we don’t have a good record playing Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and it’s going to be a tough ask. But we have a nice squad and it’s going to be important to start well in the ODIs. That’s a very important aspect of the tour and we need to get our games right heading into the Tests, where we want to get that number one ranking back,” Duminy said.

Batting at number six (he deserves to be treated as one of the top six with either Stiaan van Zyl or Quinton de Kock at seven), Duminy can put money on the fact that he is going to face plenty of spin in Sri Lanka, an area of weakness previously which he has now greatly improved.

“Playing spin is going to be crucial and I have had an issue with it in the past, but I’ve put that behind me. I’ve definitely improved a lot from three or four years ago and I feel confident facing spin now. I feel like I now have good game plans facing spin and my experience in the IPL has improved me too,” the stylish left-hander said.

There is a sense of calm now about the veteran of 115 ODIs, 55 T20 internationals and 24 Tests and Duminy says life is not going to be radically different as the Proteas enter a new era under Hashim Amla.

“The team culture is there already and there’s a great balance in the squad. Small things will change, but we understand what we stand for and the guys stepping into the side have the freedom to express themselves and there are still several guys who have been around for a long time.

“We want to dominate the international circuit; yes, there’ve been big losses from the team, but we see it as a great opportunity for the new breed of players,” Duminy said.

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/proteas/mature-jp-happy-with-leadership-role-1.1706919#.U6gkvpSSxUE

Banker Farhaan Behardien and his beautiful extra cover drive

There is nothing overly ornate about Farhaan Behardien as a batsman, but he gets the job done.

That’s not to say that his lofted drive over extra cover is not a thing of immense beauty or skill, but he has become the banker for the Titans, producing the goods in the middle-order whether it be in four-day, 50-over or T20 cricket.

His amazing consistency and his nerveless finishing as the Titans claimed the MiWayT20 Challenge title caught the eye of national coach Gary Kirsten, who is reputed to have said: “Who does that?” when he saw Behardien’s  stats of 333 runs at an average of 66.60 and a strike-rate of 143.53. The 29-year-old was not out in seven of his 12 innings.

Behardien made his international debut in a T20 match against India in March but he could so easily have slipped through the net had he stayed in Cape Town, with all its batting riches.

Having only played for Western Province B in Nuffield Week, Behardien spent three seasons playing sporadically for the Western Province amateur team before being sent to the National Academy in 2006.

It was there that Richard Pybus spotted him and Behardien soon had his first professional contract, with the Titans.

Cape Town is where the family is, FARHAAN BEHARDIEN having moved there when he was five, after being born in Johannesburg on 9 October 1983, but Centurion is where he has made his name.

A wiry, amiable fellow, Behardien wears the weight of pressure as a designated “finisher” well.

“Batting at the death, under pressure, is a job you have to love and I’ve grown to love it,” he says.

“It’s not easy, because it’s all-or-nothing, but I’ve grown to love that risk or reward aspect. I think it’s just a natural part of my temperament and character, I have a very high will to compete.”

While Pybus gave Behardien his break, it was Chris van Noordwyk who gave him extra responsibility by batting him higher up the order, while he has now fitted comfortably under the wing of Englishman Matthew Maynard, who guided the Titans to two titles last season and was a brilliant limited-overs player in his day.

“Matthew is vastly experienced, he was Duncan Fletcher’s assistant coach with England so he has been involved with so many great players. He has taught me to keep a calm head,” Behardien says.

The brilliant fielder and part-time medium-pacer was sent to Westerford High School in Cape Town, which is better known for its academics, so Behardien has had to fight for every bit of recognition, which will buttress him well against the vagaries of form and expectation as an international batsman.

“He’s someone who came through the hard school, it’s been a hard road to where he is. But that means that when you go to war, you take him with you. He’s a fantastic player, very consistent and I’m very impressed by him,” national selector Vinnie Barnes says.

Behardien’s morale has certainly never been dented by his slow rise to national colours.

“I’ve had to build up steadily and gain experience, but I’m not too disappointed that I had to wait a while. I’ve shown glimpses in the past of what I can do, but last season I had consistency.

“The experience will hold me in good stead and now every opportunity is just a chance to showcase my skills. I’ll keep working hard and keep knocking on the door with my performances.

“I’ve done the hard yards and I’ve got nothing against the process. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it!” Behardien says.

Top-order star Jacques Rudolph will be playing his long-form cricket away from South Africa in the foreseeable future as the Titans batsman confirmed yesterday that he will not be available for the remainder of the Sunfoil Series.

Rudolph, who has scored a busload of runs for the Titans in four-day cricket – 3003 at an average of 49.22 with eight centuries and 16 half-centuries – will be returning to county cricket in a couple of months.

The left-hander will be carrying the responsibility of being Glamorgan’s overseas pro and he told The Pretoria News that his body just could not take the strain of playing cricket all year round.

“I have struggled from previous experiences playing full seasons abroad and at home. I want to arrive mentally fresh because the workload in county cricket is far more than in South Africa,” the 32-year-old said.

“That’s why I made myself unavailable from the start of the season already, committing to only five Sunfoil Series games for the Titans at the start of the season. It’s certainly not a retirement from four-day cricket, but a move to manage my mind and body more efficiently. It is very difficult to play all year.”

Before there are protestors banging on the gates of SuperSport Park, Rudolph will return to the franchise next summer and, although his focus will be on the limited-overs game, he has an open mind about playing four-day cricket too.

“I will have communications with Rob [coach Rob Walter] during the county season. I would still like to throw my name in the hat in regards to one-day cricket in South Africa. And if I don’t play four-day cricket here next season, I would like to assist the younger players where possible,” Rudolph said.

The Titans are certainly going to miss their most experienced, successful batsman as they look to recover from a poor start in this season’s Sunfoil Series, but Rudolph’s absence does allow Heino Kuhn to stamp his mark as a senior player and the likes of Francois le Clus to develop his talent.

“Jacques has been an integral part of the Titans’ successes in the past and to lose him, albeit just for the rest of this season’s four-day campaign, will obviously impact the team. But that said, it also provides an opportunity for our younger players to step up and fill the space that Jacques leaves.

“He remains an integral member of the Titans set-up and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future,” Walter said.