JP Duminy, who has played in the most T20 Internationals featuring South Africa and Australia (9 of the 11), has singled Pat Cummins out for special attention ahead of tomorrow’s series opener in Adelaide.
Much of the pre-match talk has focused on the strong Australian batting lineup, featuring established internationals Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Cameron White and James Faulkner. They have all earned a reputation for hitting the ball a long way and have thrilled crowds in T20 tournaments all over the world.
The South African captain, however, has identified the fit again Cummins as a potential factor in the T20I series. Duminy has faced the 21-year-old tear-away on a few occasions and feels that he will have to be dealt with carefully in the next three games.
‘I was pretty impressed with what I came up against there,’ said Duminy of his previous encounters with Cummins.
‘We have seen some good spurts from him over different formats and obviously he’s another guy that has been hindered by injury.
‘I’m sure he’s on the way back in terms of bowling confidence. Definitely a key player for them and a player that we definitely are wary of.’
The three-match T20I series kicks off on Wednesday morning at the revamped Adelaide Oval. There is expected to be a vocal crowd in the range of 50,000-60,000 Australians who will give the young Proteas, still trying to make their way at the highest level, a baptism of fire.
Wayne Parnell was hit on the right big toe during training, but X-rays show no fracture apart from excessive swelling. He will be monitored overnight and a decision on his availability will be made prior to the toss. Other than Parnell, the Proteas management has a fit squad, with Imran Tahir making a full recovery from his shoulder injury.
‘We will have to assess him over the next few hours,’ Duminy said of Parnell. ‘Luckily for us, it’s an evening match but my first impression was that it wasn’t too bad, we will have to assess once we have more information.’
Proteas T20 squad: JP Duminy (capt), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Imran Tahir, David Wiese.
Australia’s T20 squad: Aaron Finch (capt), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Cameron Boyce, Pat Cummins, Ben Cutting, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Nic Maddinson, Nathan Reardon, Kane Richardson, Shane Watson, Cameron White.
Photo: Backpagepix
