Proteas speedster Lungi Ngidi is convinced his injury troubles are now well and truly behind him.
The 24-year-old had a tough time in 2019 and was platgetrek deur a hamstring injury that saw him miss some matches at the World Cup and later the MSL final, as well as a side strain that ruled him out of the IPL.
He returned to full fitness in January this year and simply blew away opposition batsmen.
In the four ODIs he played (two against Australia and two against England), Ngidi claimed an impressive 12 scalps and in the six T20s against the same opposition he took 13 wickets.
But that’s just a sign of things to come.
Ngidi warns: “I probably rated at about a six [out of 10], it was good, but personally [I felt] I wasn’t good enough.
“There were a few games where I could have gone for a lot less runs it’s not the finished
product. I still feel that I can deliver a whole lot more.”
But just as he was getting back into his stride, the coronavirus pandemic struck and cricket matches were cancelled.
India was his next target, but South Africa had their tour cut short after already being in that country.
And that led to Ngidi’s biggest concern - his family, not injuries.
He explains: “The most difficult thing [about the lockdown is] being away from my family.
“After coming back from India, I couldn’t risk going home, so I chose to stay this side and make sure they are 100 percent.
“They [my family] seem to be doing well, so that does lower the anxiety levels a bit.”
Of his return from injury, Ngidi says: “The road back to cricket wasn’t as bad as people think - I’m not shy to work hard, so it wasn’t an unfamiliar area for me.
“Mentally, I’ve always been strong and the only thing I could do was focus on the work I could do.”
With South Africa in lockdown, Ngidi has a lot of time to focus on what he has to do.
In-between watching documentaries on TV, he is also hard at work to stay in shape.
If the matches against Australia and England are anything to go by, coupled by Ngidi’s
promise that he can be even
better, SA fans have every reason to be excited about what an injury-free Ngidi can do.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za