Lungi Ngidi silenced his critics at Lord’s to help Proteas fight-back against Australia

Comment by Ongama Gcwabe

WHEN Lungi Ngidi burst onto the international scene, naturally, the whole country was filled with excitement.

There was a young 1.93-metre-tall black African fast bowler, one who had express pace, accuracy and skill.

A couple of years prior, the country had welcomed Kagiso Rabada, and with Ngidi coming onto the scene, the cricket-loving nation could already foresee the two ripping through every Test batting unit in the world.

In 2018, on his Test debut, Ngidi took a six-for against India at SuperSport Park in Centurion and was the Player of the Match, an achievement that further gave the country hope of a bright future for him and the national team.

A year later, he was leading the attack alongside Rabada in the ICC 2019 ODI World Cup in the United Kingdom, and Rabada was there with the new ball as the pair showed promising signs for the future.

However, a few years later, Ngidi lost his pace, moving from consistently bowling in the early 140km/h to the early 130s, and that alone meant that he was not as effective as he was when he first came onto the scene.

There were also fitness issues with the quick as he grew larger in physique.

As a result, after disappointing tours of England and Australia, he was dropped from the Test squad by the then-newly appointed Test coach in Shukri Conrad, with the coach citing that he felt Ngidi was behind the rest of the pecking order.

The likes of Gerald Coetzee, much younger in age and bowling much faster, took up space in the Test side, and Ngidi’s chances of breaking into the squad looked increasingly slim.

However, Ngidi broke into the squad once again, returning for the India series, where he played the one-and-a-half-day-long New Year’s Test on the back of Coetzee being injured.

Heading into the ongoing World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s, Ngidi lacked game-time, and his inclusion in the starting XI raised eyebrows all across the world.

After all, there was Dane Paterson, who had played a much larger role in sending the Proteas to the final at Lord’s.

However, Bavuma cited that Ngidi’s height and pace saw him get the nod ahead of Paterson.

When Ngidi went wicketless in Australia’s first innings in London on Wednesday, leaking runs when the team needed him to step up, his selection drew more questions.

However, the 29-year-old reminded the country and the world of his ability on day two at Lord’s on Thursday, claiming the important wicket of Steve Smith, the only batter that really caused South Africa problems in the first innings.

The right-arm quick then followed with the wicket of Beau Webster as he trapped both batters lbw and also bowled Pat Cummins to give the Proteas the advantage.

The fast bowler ended the day with impressive figures of 3/35, and certainly silenced his critics in fine style to play an integral part in the SA fight-back.