‘We were blown away’ - Duminy

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Cape Town

NO-ONE could accuse JP Duminy of trying to cushion the blow of his SA team’s hiding at the hands of Australia in the second T20 in Melbourne on Friday, which locked the series at 1-1 and made Sunday’s game in Sydney the decider.

“We were blown away, and we need to arrive ready for a fight,” Duminy said. “Australia came out fighting; they came out with a bang. Unfortunately, we didn’t respond very well.

“They are going to come with the same fire and enthusiasm and we are going to have to counter that.”

And how. The 101/7 SA were restricted to is their lowest total in a completed innings in this format in the 40 matches in which they have batted first. The Aussies chased down the tiny target to win by seven wickets with 44 balls remaining - only twice before have SA been beaten in fewer overs when they have batted first.

South Africans would have known something was up when an unusually tentative Quinton de Kock was caught behind off Doug Bollinger with the second ball of the match.

The last five SA wickets to fall went down for 55 runs, with Duminy’s bright 49 off 51 balls gleaming in stark relief from a scoreboard on which Reeza Hendricks’ 18 was the next best effort.

SA struggled to come to terms with Pat Cummins, who took 1/11 and - most impressively - bowled a maiden, on a pitch a touch more lively than most that are prepared for T20s. They were also clumsily uncertain against leg spinner Cameron Boyce, who claimed 2/15.

“We were blown away in our batting performance,” Duminy said. “Wickets are always going to slow the (scoring) rate down and we just kept losing wickets at crucial stages.

“Every time we tried to build a partnership or were at a stage where we wanted to take on a little bit more, we lost a wicket. If you’re only getting 100 runs, that’s never going to be enough.”

Aaron Finch’s 44 not out - and 23 and 30 by Ben Dunk and Shane Watson - kept Australia steady as they steamed to 102/3 in 12.4 overs, and with it victory and a levelled series. Wayne Parnell was SA’s best bowler with his return of 2/17 off 3.4 overs.

And all that despite the Australians’ grand plan of adding Glenn Maxwell to their squad falling pancake flat. Maxwell, nicknamed “The Big Show” for his master-blasting, top-edged a meaty swipe to the second ball he faced and was caught at backward point.

Maxwell will not want to remember that delivery for long, but Kagiso Rabada will - it earned his maiden wicket in international cricket.

The comprehensiveness of the Aussies’ win was emphasised by the fact that it was achieved two days after SA thrashed them by seven wickets in Adelaide.

But, for Duminy, it wasn’t all bad: “In some ways I’m happy we experienced this. It’s not all bells and whistles (like it was) after the first game, when everybody was on a high.

“We definitely need to come back stronger. Even though it’s 1-1, it’s a great opportunity to play under that pressure.

“With the World Cup coming up, the only way we grow is if we experience these pressure moments.”

Stand by for a growth spurt, SA fans.