The former spin all-rounder of South Africa, JP Duminy, has decided to step down from his role as the national side’s batting coach in both the white-ball formats for personal reasons. The veteran was appointed in March 2023 as a part of the support staff of the head coach, Rob Walter.
The move to hand the role to JP Duminy came after Cricket South Africa (CSA) moved away from the Mark Boucher era. The former left-handed batter was previously the head coach of the SA20 side for the Paarl Royals and their domestic team, Boland, but reports have not confirmed if he will continue to coach in the immediate future.
The 40-year-old has been part of several games for the Proteas across the formats. In 199 ODIs, he smashed 5117 runs at an average of 36.81 and a strike rate of more than 84 with four centuries and 27 half-centuries at the best unbeaten score, besides picking up 69 wickets at an average of 45.55.
In the shortest format of the game, JP Duminy, featured in 81 T20I encounters, clubbing 1934 runs at a strike rate of over 126, having pocketed 21 wickets at an economy rate of just below eight. When it comes to the longest format of the game, the batter has played 46 Tests for 2103 runs at an average of over 32 and enjoying 42 wickets at 38.11.
JP Duminy leaves South Africa’s batting coach role for personal reasons
As the batting coach of the Rainbow nation, the Cape Town-born was with the white-ball side during their run to the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they progressed to the semifinal where they lost to Australia. He wasn’t, however, part of this year’s Men’s T20 World Cup in the United States of America and West Indies in June, also for personal reasons.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced the development of the player stepping down from the position following a mutual agreement with the board based on personal reasons.
“JP Duminy, a stalwart of South African cricket, has been a key member of the limited-overs coaching staff since his appointment in March 2023. His contributions to the growth and development of the batting department within the national white-ball setup have been invaluable.” The published statement addressed the update.
The board will begin their process to find the perfect replacement for the role soon, it’s not expected to be in time for their series against Pakistan that starts next week.
“CSA wishes JP Duminy all the best in his future endeavors and thanks him for his contributions to the Proteas Men’s team during his tenure. A process to identify a suitable replacement is currently underway, and the appointment of a new white-ball batting coach will be announced in due course.” The statement informed.
The first game of the series will begin at the Kingsmead in Durban on December 10, the day after the scheduled end of the ongoing second Test match against Sri Lanka. That has led to the white-ball players to be not part of the shortest format before they return in the 50-over format to be part of the Champions Trophy 2025 preparation.
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If they don’t find a quick replacement for the all-rounder, then the board could look to appoint their second batting lead, Imran Khan, the former Dolphins coach, who was appointed in August and traveled with the red-ball squad to Bangladesh. Then, Ashwell Prince was unavailable, but he has returned to the Test duties since then.
JP Duminy was named the coach of the International League T20 side, Sharjah Warriorz, in September this year.