I'm in a whole new world, says JP Duminy

[Feed]

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Cricket&set_id=1&click_id=17&art_id=vn20090424070948323C876363 How nice it is to finally catch his breath, says JP Duminy - there's no doubt that the past week has just been absolutely crazy. More... By JP Duminy How nice it is to finally catch my breath. There's no doubt that this past week has just been absolutely crazy. Starting Friday night after the last One-Day International at the Wanderers, when I only managed to get back to my hotel after 1am. This did not help much as I had to be on a 7am flight to Cape Town on Saturday morning as I was making my Mumbai Indians debut at 12.30pm at Newlands. A combination of overtiredness and debut anxiety then kicked in and I never got much sleep anyway, so when the 5:30am alarm went off, I was actually relieved to be on my way to OR Tambo. That was where I realised I was entering a whole new world Fortunately the flight was uneventful and I managed to land on time and rushed to meet all my new Mumbai team mates and collect my kit before the team left for Newlands at 10am. But that was where I realised I was entering a whole new world. I've never received so much kit in my life - not even with the Proteas! I received something like 10 playing shirts, four tracksuits, caps, shoes, spikes, you name it! And all branded with the Mumbai Indians logo. I even received a 22-carat gold chain engraved with the Mumbai Indians logo. I thought I was past the stage where receiving new kit excited me but this really was something else. The match was an overwhelming success from a team point of view. To start on a winning note just allowed the team to gel very quickly, especially for the new players like me. Sachin played incredibly well and having the opportunity to bat with him is something I'll always cherish. A photographer called me up to say he's got a picture of me and Sachin talking in the middle of the pitch. I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on it; that's one for the home pub, don't you think? I've been attending some really posh parties Personally, the game didn't go too well as I was out just when I was starting to hit the ball well. Getting out to a short ball also wasn't nice as I know there were people saying "JP can't hook." But I assure you it's not a problem area in my game, although I am working hard on eradicating the risk attached to the shot. I enjoyed the opening ceremony, especially as it was my first, so walking around Newlands, my home ground, with all the lights flashing was really cool. I remember being a spectator at the ICC World Cup 2003 opening ceremony at Newlands, so to be involved this time around was really special. Off the field I've been attending some really posh parties. On Sunday Mumbai Indians owner Mukesh Ambani celebrated his birthday with the team at one of the conference venues at our hotel in Durban - that really was something special. Again, it helped me to settle into my new team environment as the boys have really made me feel welcome, as well as Mr Ambani. As you know our game against last year's champions, the Rajasthan Royals, was rained off. That was very disappointing as we wanted to build on our momentum from the opening game but the guys did have an opportunity to release some of their frustrations as the Kolkata Knight Riders were also in Durban. And, as I'm quickly finding out, when the KKR are in town a good party will be had by one and all as their Bollywood owner Shah Rukh Khan really knows how to bring the house down. There were some really "groot manne" at his party. I was actually a bit overawed at first but really enjoyed myself after settling in. While this is all great fun, we're not taking our eye off the primary reason why we are here. And that is to play cricket. The fringe players had a practice game against the Dolphins yesterday to keep them fresh and Jonty and Polly are still working us hard to ensure we're ready for our next game against the in-form Deccan Chargers on Saturday. Cheers until next week!

[King]

Good read, nice to know he has settled in. Here's hoping for Duminy special one of these days.

[Don]

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Cricket&set_id=1&click_id=17&art_id=vn20090424070948323C876363 How nice it is to finally catch his breath, says JP Duminy - there's no doubt that the past week has just been absolutely crazy. More... By JP Duminy How nice it is to finally catch my breath. There's no doubt that this past week has just been absolutely crazy. Starting Friday night after the last One-Day International at the Wanderers, when I only managed to get back to my hotel after 1am. This did not help much as I had to be on a 7am flight to Cape Town on Saturday morning as I was making my Mumbai Indians debut at 12.30pm at Newlands. A combination of overtiredness and debut anxiety then kicked in and I never got much sleep anyway, so when the 5:30am alarm went off, I was actually relieved to be on my way to OR Tambo. That was where I realised I was entering a whole new world Fortunately the flight was uneventful and I managed to land on time and rushed to meet all my new Mumbai team mates and collect my kit before the team left for Newlands at 10am. But that was where I realised I was entering a whole new world. I've never received so much kit in my life - not even with the Proteas! I received something like 10 playing shirts, four tracksuits, caps, shoes, spikes, you name it! And all branded with the Mumbai Indians logo. I even received a 22-carat gold chain engraved with the Mumbai Indians logo. I thought I was past the stage where receiving new kit excited me but this really was something else. The match was an overwhelming success from a team point of view. To start on a winning note just allowed the team to gel very quickly, especially for the new players like me. Sachin played incredibly well and having the opportunity to bat with him is something I'll always cherish. A photographer called me up to say he's got a picture of me and Sachin talking in the middle of the pitch. I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on it; that's one for the home pub, don't you think? I've been attending some really posh parties Personally, the game didn't go too well as I was out just when I was starting to hit the ball well. Getting out to a short ball also wasn't nice as I know there were people saying "JP can't hook." But I assure you it's not a problem area in my game, although I am working hard on eradicating the risk attached to the shot. I enjoyed the opening ceremony, especially as it was my first, so walking around Newlands, my home ground, with all the lights flashing was really cool. I remember being a spectator at the ICC World Cup 2003 opening ceremony at Newlands, so to be involved this time around was really special. Off the field I've been attending some really posh parties. On Sunday Mumbai Indians owner Mukesh Ambani celebrated his birthday with the team at one of the conference venues at our hotel in Durban - that really was something special. Again, it helped me to settle into my new team environment as the boys have really made me feel welcome, as well as Mr Ambani. As you know our game against last year's champions, the Rajasthan Royals, was rained off. That was very disappointing as we wanted to build on our momentum from the opening game but the guys did have an opportunity to release some of their frustrations as the Kolkata Knight Riders were also in Durban. And, as I'm quickly finding out, when the KKR are in town a good party will be had by one and all as their Bollywood owner Shah Rukh Khan really knows how to bring the house down. There were some really "groot manne" at his party. I was actually a bit overawed at first but really enjoyed myself after settling in. While this is all great fun, we're not taking our eye off the primary reason why we are here. And that is to play cricket. The fringe players had a practice game against the Dolphins yesterday to keep them fresh and Jonty and Polly are still working us hard to ensure we're ready for our next game against the in-form Deccan Chargers on Saturday. Cheers until next week!

honestly!! thasts ****in tacky.