Ngidi says he isn’t the finished product yet after returning from hamstring injury
South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi acknowledged that while he may have done well in patches since returning from a hamstring injury, his performances haven’t been up to the mark they should be at.
Ngidi injured his hamstring during the 2019-20 Mzansi Super League, which forced him to miss the Test leg of South Africa’s home season. He has since played in a few limited-overs games, but his performances have blown hot and cold. Ngidi was especially disappointed that he couldn’t contain runs as effectively, to complement his wicket-taking abilities.
“If I had to rate my performance over the last summer, I probably rate it at about a six. It was good, but to me it still wasn’t good enough,” Ngidi said. “There were a few games where I could have gone for a lot less runs. I picked up a few wickets and that’s my job, so I was happy with that but it’s not the finished product. I still feel I can deliver a whole lot more and a whole lot better.”
The up-and-down trajectory of Ngidi’s performances is best projected by the fact that he’s delivered, both, one of his most expensive spells in ODI cricket and his career-best performance this year.
Those performances came against England and Australia, respectively, as he returned figures of 3-63 in nine overs and 6-58 in 10 overs. Ngidi said a CSA conditioning camp in January helped him, and credited bowling coach Charl Langeveldt for helping him figure out what works for him.
“Every person has a different formula and I was still trying to figure mine out, so going to that camp helped me do that,” Ngidi said. “I figured out that I have probably got to work a lot harder than most people. It doesn’t come as naturally to me.
“Having Langeveldt back has been really good for me. He is really supportive and encourages the way I think. He is very understanding with that and he has got a lot of knowledge. He is a very skillful bowler. It has really helped my cricket a lot.”