Cape Town — Lungi Ngidi 2.0.
At only 26-years-old, that is quite a statement. But such has been Ngidi’s troubles that this England tour is a virtual rebirth for the hukling fast bowler.
A former automatic all-format selection for the Proteas Men's team Ngidi has fallen down the pecking order over the past two years due to a combination of injury and illness. But now back in the best physical shape that he’s been in a long while, Ngidi has been tasked with leading the Proteas attack in the upcoming three-match ODI series against world champions England, starting in Durham on Tuesday.
His good mate Kagiso Rabada, who Ngidi admits to still seeking out when the self-doubt of being on the sidelines inevitably creeps in, has been rested for the three first-leg of the tour.
It is a position he’s familiar with, often thriving on the extra responsibility, with his best performances for the Proteas having come in the absence of Rabada.
Equally, he is fresh and hungry after not getting much gametime in the IPL, and eager to go head-to-head with arguably the most potent limited-overs batting unit in the world.
“Obviously it was a bit frustrating (not playing at the IPL), but I was able to pretty much use it for a good pre-season for the season that we’ve got coming up. I got a lot of good work done behind the scenes. I think that I showed during the India T20 series when I got a chance,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Being fit and ready is one thing, but what is the plan to contain England’s dynamic batters that starts with captain Jos Buttler and Jason Roy, followed by Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali?
They are all explosive individuals that thrive on putting the opposition under pressure, especially on good surfaces that are abundant all around England at the moment, even up in the north-east of Chester-le-Street where the series kicks off.
“We are obviously playing towards a tempo that we know that we're gonna have to play against these guys. They do put bowling lineups under pressure, and I think that's their go-to plan,” Ngidi said.
“But we've seen the conditions now, the weather as well, lots of cloud cover overhead. The ball seems to be moving around a bit. Obviously that gives us a lot of confidence as the bowlers, you know, judging from what we saw in the warmup games any assistance we can get is gonna be useful.
“I reckon it should be some really good cricket. The wickets are all good batting wickets, but the plan is to get early wickets and put their batting lineup under pressure. I think everyone's pretty much mentally ready for the first game. We know what England is going to bring, so we definitely are gonna have to raise our intensity to that level to make sure it's a good game.”
Ngidi may have begun his international career as a strapping fast bowler that let rip at speeds in excess of 140km/h, but he has become much more skillful these days relying on cutters and slower balls early on his spell already.
Although legendary Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn is still keen to see Ngidi really charging in and hitting hard lengths more consistently in effort to get batters out caught behind the wicket, Ngidi is comfortable that his new-found gameplan can reap the rewards.
“I think the main thing is that batters are sort of used to bowlers just bowling one pace and being able to get into a momentum by freeing the arms up and hitting through the line,” he said.
“I just think a cutter or a slow ball upfront does check that swing a bit and obviously stops that momentum so it's not just free flowing. So yeah, it's more of a mental game with batters, especially, if you can disguise it well, and you can hit a good length with it. It's not really a ball that you can get away. It's one ball that I have practiced well, and I use it a lot, so I don't see why not use it in the powerlay if I can.”
The Proteas should have a full squad to select from for Tuesday’s opener with Quinton de Kock’s recovery from a hand improving steadily over the last couple of days after missing the two warm-up games last week in Taunton and Worcester.
IOL Sport