Ngidi underlines his comeback journey with Champions Trophy opener
Lungi Ngidi must feel like the forgotten man of South African cricket.
Frequent injuries, the emergence of teenage sensation Kwena Maphaka, the reincarnation of Lutho Sipamla and Kagiso Rabada’s larger-than-life presence can have that effect.
It has though primarily been Ngidi’s fitness issues that has virtually brought the 28-year-old’s once promising international career to a grinding halt over the past two years.
After recovering from an ankle sprain and a long-term lower back ailment, Ngidi then suffered a groin injury that ruled him out of the Proteas’ entire home summer.
It was a six-week period that ran through to the Betway SA20 where despite returning to fitness, the Royals remained cautious and opted for young Maphaka instead with Ngidi running the drinks for most of the competition.
All the while the frustration grew within the big fast bowler.
“Yeah, it was actually very annoying,” Ngidi said. “If you had to ask me now, would I take another six-week break, I'd probably tell you no.
“The journey back has probably been one of the hardest ones I've had in my career. Six weeks felt very long.”
As luck would have it, the Proteas have experienced a fast bowling crisis this season with Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger and Lizaad Williams have all ruled out of the contention for the ICC Champions Trophy.
Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter therefore backed Ngidi’s experience ahead of Maphaka, who is a travelling reserve, in the hope that with some gametime under his belt that the Titans seamer would hit his straps again.
Ngidi’s rustiness certainly showed during the Tri-Series clashes against New Zealand (0/54) and Pakistan (1/74) in the build-up to the Champions Trophy.
The acclimatisation to the conditions in Pakistan certainly benefitted Ngidi as he delivered a much-improved performance of 2/56 in the tournament opener against Afghanistan in Karachi on Friday night.
“Yeah, it was a massive, massive key for us. Especially playing in the conditions before we actually got the tournament started,” Ngidi said.
“We did mention that that's positive for us. So we kind of knew what to expect from the wicket and how it tends to play throughout the day.
“The ones we played in the tri-series were probably a bit more batter-friendly, but having come here early that gave us good feedback in terms of what to expect when we go out to play.
“We knew it was going to always be hard work for the bowlers, but it seemed to fall our way, so we're very happy about that.
“Obviously it was a new wicket, but having been here for a couple of days, it did help us a lot.
“If it's bowler-friendly, you know, we're always smiling as a unit. So, we'll definitely take it in our stride, but we're definitely happy with knowing what the conditions are giving us.
“This is the time to try and get back into it. I'm just building from game to game and hopefully it clicks at the end.”