Misfortune and Opportunity.

Nobody wants to see a good player, or any other player, sidelined by injury especially one as serious as an Achilles tendon snapping. But when it does happen, we can only hope for a swift and complete recovery and to see that player get back to his best. With JP Duminy's freak injury ruling him out of action for up to six months, it might seem as though the Australians are the biggest beneficiaries in the short term, but the person who stands to gain the most out of the situation is Jacques Rudolph.

Rudolph has been in the number 6 slot since last summer after years of good performances in domestic and county cricket. But since he returned to the Test side, he hasn't stamped his authority and made that spot his own. There will come a time when the SA selectors decide that AB de Villiers is not suited to keeping wicket and performing with the bat. Class wicket-keeper batsmen aren't a dime-a-dozen and it is extremely rare that a keeper can hold on to his keeping spot and still perform with the bat. Look at Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara who has performed far better as a batsman without the added responsibility of the gloves. At some point, the Proteas would have had to find a spot for a specialist keeper and the person most likely to fall away would have been one of Rudolph or Duminy.

Rudolph now has the opportunity to make runs without looking over his shoulder to see what Duminy is doing. Granted, it is difficult to make runs in the South African line up at number 6 especially when the top order has been performing so well over the last year. During the recent Test series against England, the first which featured Rudolph at number 6 and Duminy at 7, Rudolph averaged 35,25 in 4 innings whilst Duminy averaged 67, 5. There will be a little added pressure on Rudolph though, as every innings he bats from now until the New Zealand and Pakistan tours to South Africa in December and early 2013 will be watched with intense scrutiny, but at least in the race for the number 6 spot he doesn't have to worry about Duminy breathing on the back of his neck, for the time being.