Duminy's a great in the making: Ian Chappell

[SachDan]

The story is told that near the turn of the century - 19th to 20th - Dr WG Grace asked to see Victor Trumper's bat and promptly wrote on it, "From the current champion to the future champion," and then signed the piece of willow. Despite the self-anointment - WG didn't need such modern aids as a computer ranking to confirm his greatness - Grace's prediction was soon confirmed by the dazzling strokeplay of Trumper. Minus the self-aggrandisement, we may have glimpsed a potential modern-day changing of the guard in the last few days. Ricky Ponting has long been considered the master of the willow wielders :finger: He attained this lofty status even with the presence of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, both of whom vied for the title from the days when the young Australian was only a glint in the eye of Academy head coach Rod Marsh. Judging by the cool approach and precise shot-making of Cape Cobras' JP Duminy in the opening Champions League match, he's the young batsman most likely to usurp Ponting's title. That would be an appropriate juxtaposition: an Australian bestowing the title on a man who is known for his batting prowess and by his initials. Duminy announced himself to the world in Perth last year, when as a late replacement for the injured Ashwell Prince he played a convincing part in a mammoth, successful South African run-chase. Not content with a debut half-century in a remarkable South African victory, he followed up with a game-winning hundred at the MCG, as the team clinched a historic first-ever series win in Australia. Such a confident start to a Test career against the number one team in the world spoke volumes for his skill and temperament. It's worth noting that Ponting announced himself in a similarly spectacular fashion, also in Perth, even if it was against slightly less talented opposition - a moderate Sri Lankan side. He scored an impressive 96 before an atrocious umpiring decision robbed him of a century on debut. Since then it has been onwards and upwards in terms of both performance and centuries and he now trails only Tendulkar, with 38 Test hundreds to his name. While Duminy is yet to add to his MCG Test century, he has shown enough in all three forms of the game to suggest he's the blueprint for 21st-century batsman. Despite limited opportunities batting in the middle order in the short versions of the game, he's made enough runs in tough situations to confirm his talent, technique and temperament are all adaptable. Given an extended opportunity to express his talent against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in a hostile environment, he did so in convincing fashion. If ever an innings deserved to be punctuated by a century, Duminy's effort did; but he was denied not by the bowlers but by his own rapid run-rate. Unlike Ponting and both Tendulkar and Lara, Duminy is slightly suspect against the short-pitched ball. Normally this can lead to a curtailed career, but in Duminy's case he has been quick to adapt to the demands of international cricket and should quickly eradicate this shortcoming. Like Tendulkar, Duminy possesses all the requirements for a Test career at number four, and eventually he'll probably emulate Ponting in the shorter versions of the game by batting at three. In keeping with the modern demands for fast scoring Duminy's batting relies more on aggression and less on technique. There's every chance that in the hustle and bustle of the modern game, well-equipped batsmen like Tendulkar and Ponting - who can both counter-attack and survive tough periods - will go the way of the steam engine. Nevertheless, like the past batting masters, Duminy doesn't waste time tinkering with frivolous shots and scores most of his limited-overs runs from traditional cricket strokes. In the modern tradition he has the strength to clear the boundary with the bulk of his copybook cricket shots. Judging by his superb Champions Trophy form Ponting is in no rush to abdicate his throne. The way Duminy has commenced his Champions League campaign, he may be about to elevate his game to another level. Lately, the word "champion" has been in vogue, but it's not overstating the case to say we're privileged to be watching two batsmen of that ilk, one current and the other future.

LINK I think it's a bit premature to call Duminy as the next big thing in cricket. Only if he succeeds under trying conditions over a period of long time, we can start calling him a 'good player' let alone great. Ian Chappell never misses an opportunity to lavish praise on his favorite player Cocky Pwnting..Calling him 'The master of willow wielders' is an insult to the true great bats the game has seen. Pwnting is undoubtedly among the best ten batsmen of the modern era but not in the league of Sachin or Lara.

[Chorazin Reto]

Ponting at this point in time is arguably the best, some say the mantle passed from Tendulkar to Ponting anywhere from 2002-2004. As for Duminy, i would tend to agree with 1 of the responses on that thread that Gautam Gambhir may be the next "great", being talented is just a part of it, you also need to be dedicated and in some cases, lucky, i think Watson would of been a much more complete player had he not had such a horror run with consecutive injuries over the course of his playing career. Id like to know the criteria for this selection, im assuming he is looking for a young player that looks the goods, but at what age is the cutoff, Gambhir is 27 so i think he fits the bill, although not 'young' he should, barring some kind of injury or horrible extended form slump, still be around and dominating when Ponting hangs up the willow. G.Gambhir: TESTS mat~25 avg~54.07 SR~52.18 ODI mat~81 avg~37.42 SR~84.56 J.P.Duminy: TESTS mat~6 avg~48.62 SR~40.56 ODI mat~50 avg~34.21 SR~79.17 So when Ponting and Tendulkar retire over the next couple of years, who will be the worlds best bat? Or are players of such skill rare and we were just lucky to have Lara, then Tendulkar and Ponting in this era?

[vvvslaxman]

Ian Chappell has opened his mouth. Expect some low scres for Duminy. Ian is a curse.

[kabira]

this reminds me his piece after WC2007 on SRT. Mirror Mirror...sometihng like that..

[vvvslaxman]

Ian Chappell's jinx record in recent times is 10 out of 10. Any time he hypes a player or team invariably they fail and vice versa.

[punjabi_khota]

WHat abt ABD ? :dontknow: He is younger than Gambhir, and in the last year or so, has really blasted into limelight. In my opinion, he more than Duminy is the one to look out for in SA team. He had a bit of a mediocre start, but since Dec-07, he has played 20 tests at average of 60, and has scored 6 centuries in those 20 matches. His batting average in ODI last year has been 50.

[Bradman99]

Ian Chappell has opened his mouth. Expect some low scres for Duminy. Ian is a curse.

It's true. haha. I do see Duminy becoming a very good player, but perhaps not as great as those players mentioned.. I agree with the above poster that AB Devilliers is the man to watch out for.

[champ]

Duminy should have supported Smith well in that marathon innings in CT .. SA could have won the match .. Duminy has a long way to go i feel to prove himself..

[Temujin Khaghan]

its getting too late for yuvraj to snatch the mantle. iam sure after sauravs retirement he will have a place in test side. hopefully raina/rohit dont steal that spot. infact i think it is too late...

[patriot]

LOL @ Ian Chappell's " Duminy's a great in the making" http://http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/429139.html Trust this potty mouth to jinx and unjinx ( in the case of Sachin and his silly mirror mirror article) players unfailingly.

[riya]

And u r very good in that too.There is second innings.

[patriot]

Even, if he scores some, it won't hide the fact that Duminy is a poor player of spin bowling.

[Karan114]

SA moved Prince to open after Duminy's success in Australia - Prince had been doing very well in the middle-order before the injury that allowed Duminy a chance. Now Prince's game is broken from batting in an uncomfortable position while Duminy himself can't buy a run these days. With that new guy scoring a hundred today they will have to drop one of Duminy/Prince when Boucher returns. Duminy's bowling will probably save him

[The Outsider]

Oh hai Ian :hello:

[vvvslaxman]

Ian Chappell's jinx record in recent times is 10 out of 10. Any time he hypes a player or team invariably they fail and vice versa.

How true :hysterical:

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[ensd2]

Duminy better than Tendulkar B->:hysterical:

[spectre]

Request to ICF Admins - please hire Ian as a full time jinxer here. He has a perfect record :--D We can become the No.1 team in all format and also along the way, help the padosis stay at their bunkers

[bsriharsha]

Ian Chappel's got a habit of talking out of his **** :hehe:

[Ram]

Well, to be fair to Ian, Duminy was simply outstanding in the Aussie summer of '08. How often is it that a rookie visiting batsmen scores big runs to shepherd his team to a record breaking chase at Perth ? Sure, Duminy has had a rapid descent from those dizzying heights, but he might yet go on to become one of South Africa's best batsmen. Its premature to write off a batsmen after just one bad season. Lets wait to see how he responds to this crisis, time will tell.