Protea coach, Rob Walter has the utmost trust in his players’ ability to get through a high-impact tournament such as the ICC Champions Trophy, where the Proteas play three matches within a week. Picture: Gerhard Duraan, BackpagePix
Zaahier Adams
PROTEAS white-ball coach Rob Walter has risked his team’s ICC Champions Trophy success in Pakistan by selecting two injury-prone fast bowlers.
Walter named both Anrich Nortjé and Lungi Ngidi in his 15-man squad on Monday, despite both only recently returning from injury.
Ngidi played his first competitive match last Saturday since suffering a long-term groin injury, which has kept him on the sidelines since October.
He certainly looked rusty, with the Royals not even utilising him with the new ball and preferring teenager Kwena Maphaka instead, as he returned the uninspiring figures of 0/42 from four overs.
Nortjé, meanwhile, who last played for the Proteas in the ICC T20 World Cup final, is also on the comeback trail after suffering a toe injury.
The 31-year-old has yet to feature in the SA20 for Pretoria Capitals, but is expected to play his first game this evening against Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Centurion. Walter, though, has the utmost “trust” in Nortjé’s fitness, and that he will be able to get through a high-impact tournament such as the ICC Champions Trophy, where the Proteas play three matches within a week.
“Obviously the medical team are on top of the progress of the players that have been injured or have been carrying injuries, but I feel desperately sad for Anrich,” Walter said.
“To be fair, when he came back into the short-format squads to play against Pakistan ... I mean, he was at our camp in Pretoria bowling really quickly, very excited to be back on the international stage. And then, unfortunately, Dave Miller produced one of his best yorkers and hit him on the toe.
“So, outside of that, he’s actually had a nice run from an injury point of view. Was, as I said, super fit and super energised to be playing for South Africa again.
“And this was just one of those unfortunate circumstances. So yeah, from that point of view, I mean, he’s an ultimate professional. He looks after himself, takes care of his conditioning. So, from my side, I trust him, and trust that he’ll be ready to go.”
Walter has certainly placed his faith in experience for the Champions Trophy, with the core of the squad having reached the 2023 World Cup semi-final in India and a first-ever ICC T20 World Cup final in Barbados last year.
He has therefore overlooked the potential of 18-year-old Maphaka, who seemed to have the inside lane ahead of Ngidi due to his extra pace, and the added variation of being a left-arm seamer to provide cover for Marco Jansen. “Obviously, we’re all excited about Kwena and what he brings to the party. And as a young guy, he’s got so much potential,” Walter said.
“But yeah, just in our opinion, just a bit early for him now. There are other guys who are ahead of him and offer different skill-sets. So yeah, close, but his time will come. We have no doubt about that.
“Most of the guys have been playing together. So, you bring that core group together. They were at the World Cup together in 2023. Most of them in the T20 World Cup as well. So, a lot of experience together, very excited to have that group together again and to see what they can do at this tournament.”
Walter also feels that having broken the semi-final curse to reach a first-ever ICC T20 World Cup final, the Proteas are now better prepared than ever to go all the way.
“Yeah, I suppose the million dollar question really is, I felt in the 2023 World Cup, we played exceptionally good cricket.
“A host of different guys stood up at different times and got us into that semi-final. And even in that semi-final, with our backs against the wall, I thought we fought and played some really brave cricket under pressure,” he said. “I always felt that that would be the catalyst to our first victory and we got narrowly close in the T20 World Cup. But now guys have felt what it feels like to win a semi-final and play in a final. I’ve also tasted what it feels like to play our brand of cricket in a final, and push another exceptional cricket side right to the death.
“And so, hopefully now we can rest on that and continue to play great cricket, and that’s going to get us over the line.
“It’s just sticking to the way we play, trusting our skill-sets, trusting each other, and knowing what it feels like to be in the cauldron.”
Proteas Squad
Temba Bavuma (captain), Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortjé, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen.
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