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In a hilarious turn of events, JP Duminy, the batting coach of South Africa, was spotted taking the field for one of his players in the final over of the Ireland batting innings during the third and final ODI of the series on Monday, October 7. At the Sheikh Zayed International Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the sudden appearance of JP Duminy as a fielder for South Africa caught everyone by surprise, leaving the commentators in splits, and the social media was abuzz afterwards as well.
With the weather in the UAE being quite hot for most of the year, including the month of October, some of the fielders in the South African team were feeling the pinch at the closing stages of the Ireland innings in the evening hours. It led to the coaching staff of South Africa taking the matters into their own hands with the 40-year-old batting coach, JP Duminy, fielding for one of the players in the national team in the final over.
Watch the clip of batting coach JP Duminy fielding on behalf of one of the South African players:
Ireland posted 284/9 on the board in third ODI vs South Africa after fifties from Paul Stirling and Harry Tector
After losing the first two ODIs of the three-match series with heavy margins in the run chase, the Irish cricket team got the chance to bat first after captain Paul Stirling won the toss. The skipper, who opened the batting, led from the front with his scintillating innings of 88 runs in 92 balls with six fours and three maximums, while his opening partner Andy Balbirnie and Harry Tector made vital contributions to the Irish innings, helping them reach 284/9 total in their allotted overs.
While none of the South African spinners were able to pick up a wicket, the likes of Lizaard Williams, Ottneil Baartman, and Andil Phehlukwayo shared eighth wickets amongst themselves. In the run chase, South Africa were teetering at one stage with their score reading 10/3 inside first five overs with Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, and the captain Rassie van der Dussen losing their wickets cheaply.
As of this writing, South Africa have reached 68/4 total in 16 overs with Tristan Stubbs and Jason Smith at the crease after Kyle Verreyene’s 38 off 36, which included six fours.
