South African cricket bigwigs believed Duminy did not possess the will to cut it at the top. So they cut him.
Questions were raised of his commitment to training, and Duminy became the butt of jokes in the team camp when fitness tests were held.
Dropped from junior representative teams when he should not have been, Duminy’’s confidence began to wane. Then, after fighting back to make his one-day international debut in 2004, Duminy was dropped from the national side, and the same questions were raised.
‘I”m a firm believer of everything happens for a reason, there’’s a time for everything,’ Duminy said yesterday.
‘The way things have panned out is probably the best way I could ask for. It definitely made me hungrier, and the key for me was just to make sure I keep scoring runs and keep my name in the pool,’ the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.
The find of the summer, Duminy is on the way to becoming a batting superstar and will be a key element in grand plans by the Proteas to dominate all forms of the game in the coming years.
‘Anything is possible, and no team is unbeatable - that’’s the main thing I”ve learnt for myself [on this tour],’ Duminy said.
‘I believe now I”m good enough to play at this level - there was always that doubt in my mind, not having played a Test match yet. Now the belief is more there, and now I feel like I”m part of the set-up.’ (ANI)