The Proteas suffered a double blow ahead of their Cricket World Cup campaign in India next month, with Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday revealing that both Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala were ruled out of the tournament.
On the eve of jetting off to the subcontinent where they’ll play Afghanistan in the warm-up match next week, a statement released by CSA reads: “Nortje has a suspected low back (lumbar) stress fracture and will be under the care of a specialist team on the next steps in his recovery.
“The 29-year-old seamer experienced lower back spasms during the second One-Day International against Australia earlier this month and underwent specialist assessments and scans.
🟡 #CWC23 TEAM UPDATE 🟢
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) September 21, 2023
White-ball head coach Rob Walter today confirmed that Anrich Nortje & Sisanda Magala have been ruled out of the @cricketworldcup in India 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦![CDATA[]]>🏆
✅ Andile Phehlukwayo & Lizaad Williams
❌Sisanda Magala & Anrich Nortje #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/WhDiCNDNjY
“Magala [knee injury] was part of the recent white-ball tour against Australia and was given every opportunity for a full recovery and participation.
“Ultimately it was decided that the risk associated with his inclusion in the squad outweighed his obvious value to the team.”
The Proteas brought in Andile Phehlukwayo and Lizaad Williams as their replacements, with coach Rob Walter saying: “It’s hugely disappointing for Anrich and Sisanda to be missing out on the 50-over World Cup. Both are quality players that add immense value to the Proteas. We sympathise in their omission and will continue to provide all the necessary support as they work towards their return to competitive action.
“This provides an opportunity for Andile and Lizaad on the global stage. Both players have been part of our winter programs as well as having represented South Africa in the recent white-ball tour against Australia. They offer great skill sets and we’re excited to have them complete the 15-player squad for this year’s World Cup.”
PROTEAS WORLD CUP SQUAD: Temba Bavuma (captain), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen and Lizaad Williams.