Rob Houwing

These are tricky and perhaps confusing times in Test cricket for 25-year-old JP Duminy: he has slipped backwards a little at his main trade, while advancing quite nicely at his secondary one.

He had a near-nightmare series with the bat against England – an average of 16.28 tells you everything you need to know – yet his occasional off-spinners started to take on a more pleasing little whiff of “permanency”.

The little Cape Cobras customer’s series haul of eight for 169, at an average of 21.12 and economy rate of 3.13, was certainly not to be sneezed at.

He earned just three scalps fewer than specialist spinner Paul Harris, who bowled almost three times as many overs and averaged 40.36 (economy 2.96).

Come the crucial final Test at the Wanderers and South Africa felt confident enough to sideline Harris in favour of an all-pace frontline attack – an old-favourite formula --simultaneously safe in the knowledge that Duminy could give them some tidy overs of slow fare when necessary.

Was that a sign of things to come? On home soil, just maybe.

The Proteas, I suspect, may strive for slightly more juiced-up pitches where possible countrywide in Tests henceforth, such was the venom and fruitfulness of the Steyn-Morkel new-ball alliance at the Wanderers, with Wayne Parnell renewing his credentials to a decent degree as an exciting first-change option.

That, of course, would not be a wonderful development for Harris, but horses for courses is a common cricketing principle and there should also be no disputing his right to be considered the (likely) No 1 spinner again for the two-Test series in India shortly.

Unless it is a dustbowl of absolutely immense proportions, I also believe that Duminy will be employed as the second spinner for the opening encounter at Nagpur, leaving Johan Botha, the specialist “offie” in the tour party, kicking his heels.

And performing that role against India’s ace batsmen, in their own habitat, would provide the most acid test yet of Duminy’s usefulness to the cause as a bowler.

Should he come through it with flying colours is the most interesting thing to consider, for it would probably announce him in a meaningful way as … whisper it, a proper all-rounder!

There are interesting, mixed views on this.

During television commentary on the final Test, the knowledgeable Robin Jackman made the point that South Africa badly need a batting all-rounder in order to stay “balanced” when, perish the thought, Jacques Kallis eventually retires.

The cameras zoomed in, at the same time, on the figure of Duminy in the field and Jackman added: “You may be looking at him … not just as bit-part spinner but as THE spinner down the line.”

It was intriguing to hear an expert voice say it, because it is a scenario I had just begun to contemplate myself.

But you will get a fairly deviant view at present from Shukri Conrad, Duminy’s franchise coach at the high-flying Cobras.

When I chatted to him shortly before the Johannesburg Test, Conrad was adamant that batting should remain his overwhelming area of focus, and reluctant also to entertain any notion that Duminy could just about “do the Harris job” regularly for the Proteas.

“Look, his bowling is a work in progress, it is true, and I don’t discourage the extra string to his bow. But he’s a batsman: I believe he should be scoring big hundreds for South Africa and be (no more than) the back-up spinner.

“Your top batsmen in the world in recent years like the Haydens, Laras, Pontings … they didn’t dabble with bowling. I have a firm belief JP will become a great in the batting department; he has the potential to be world-class.

“You start considering him as an all-rounder and his batting will go one way only. Remember also that he’s tended to bowl mostly in low-pressure situations (in Tests) up to now, and with that more relaxed mindset of the No 2 spinner. It changes when you’re the top guy – the demands are different.”

Conrad does not deny that Duminy has many of the attributes an off-spinner needs.

“People who know the art really well will tell you he gets good shape on the ball, good revs, has a really nice action. But he’s a batsman – that’s bottom line for me.

“I think it’s unfortunate at this stage of his development (still only 10 Tests) that some people are already starting to doubt him at the crease. Remember how long another left-hander who went on to big things, Gary Kirsten, fell into the doldrums before bouncing back with a 275?

“Maybe JP is simply going through this ‘second-season syndrome’ people talk about, and I don’t personally believe he has a problem with the short ball. He’s at his best when he is aggressive and feels good enough to show real intent: people have just planted a few seeds (of doubt) and maybe he’s invented some demons for himself as a result.

“Let him develop at his own pace. He can’t be expected to just go out and win matches like he did at the MCG last summer – in many ways that game really came too early for him.

“Don’t try telling me he’s a one-hit wonder batsman. He will be a South African great.”

Conrad’s message seems clear: it would be foolhardy to suddenly turn a richly promising batsman into a bits-and-pieces cricketer.

At the same time, wouldn’t it be ironic if Duminy’s batting continues to stutter at the highest level and the bowling possibilities he offers help to cement his continued passage in the five-day format?

Rob Houwing is Sport24's chief writer.

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