Duminy elected SACA president

JP Duminy may not have the opportunity to influence the outcome of South Africa's upcoming Test against West Indies at all because of his niggling knee injury but he has found another way to contribute. On Tuesday, the day after Duminy appeared on a television cooking programme and revealed he may only be back on the park for the limited-overs matches of the West Indies series, Duminy was elected president of the South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) by his peers.

Duminy's appointment means he will sit on the SACA players' executive committee, which takes major cricketing decisions on the behalf of the players, and will have an active role with the management company that looks after the players' commercial interests. The increased responsibility comes just a month after Duminy was given a first taste of captaincy, when he led South Africa's Twenty20 team against Australia, and is an indication that he has become a core member of the leadership group.

"Not only is JP one of the top national cricketers, but he is also a very astute and well-rounded guy," Tony Irish, the CEO of SACA, told ESPNcricinfo. "He participates, he is involved, and with all the years he has had playing the game, he is also very experienced. The players believe he is the best guy to be their leader in this department."

Duminy will be joined by three other players on the executive committee. Farhaan Behardien, who replaced Duminy in the ODI squad which played Australia, Cobras' top-order batsman Omphile Ramela, and Lions' first-class and List A captain Stephen Cook were also elected.

All the appointments were made by SACA's members, who number over 230, and for the first time include players from the national women's team who have been SACA members for the past six months. SACA assisted the women in negotiating a landmark contract deal which saw 14 players contracted by CSA, up from six last season.

Although the women's contracts are "not yet at the level" where they do not need other income to supplement their salaries, according to Irish, he believes their joining SACA is a step in the right direction. "Women's cricket is becoming more and more professional all around the world," Irish said. "In Australia, England and New Zealand, the women are fully professional and we are getting there.

"Globally, women's cricket has gone from having just one ICC event to two, which is a sign of its growth. We will soon see an increase in bilateral series between women's teams, especially in the longer format."