JP Duminy’s absence hurt South Africa – Former coach
Mar 31, 2016 at 3:48 PM
Mickey Arthur, the former South Africa coach has said that the absence of JP Duminy in the crunch game against West Indies at Nagpur was a colossal blow for the Proteas and that dented their chances in the ICC World T20. As South Africa bowed out of the tournament with a consolation win over Sri Lanka, cricketing pundits were of the view that the Proteas didn’t fully play to their abilities.
Duminy had a good tournament where he scored a half-century against England at Mumbai. His absence at Nagpur was indeed a big blow as his batting would have been handy and his off-spin could have had a crucial impact.
“Duminy’s absence affected the balance of the team. He would have been pretty handy against the West Indies,” Arthur said. “But I think they didn’t get their combinations right and didn’t seem to know where to best use AB de Villiers. I always felt that AB is best at the end because South Africa needed a finisher. David Miller plays that role but he is erratic. The bowling I thought lacked variations and really struggled.”
“To be unable to defend 229 was the worst possible start for South Africa and put them under the pump immediately,” he said. “They never had a complete game and would be bitterly disappointed with their campaign.” “Until they can win a World Cup, South Africa will always have this burden,” he said.
“There is no doubt the continual disappointments over the years linger over the team and is having an impact on the group. I sensed it when I was a coach and we just couldn’t get over the line despite being close,” Arthur said.