Latest news with #LungiNgidi
TimesLIVE
11 hours ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Hamstring injury rules Bavuma out of Proteas' Zimbabwe Tests
The South African squad for the two Tests, which will both be played in Bulawayo, is markedly different from the group that claimed a historic triumph against Australia in the WTC final at Lord's, which concluded on Saturday. Five cross-format players, including the player of the match at Lord's, Aiden Markram, were not included to manage their workloads ahead of a busy year for the Proteas. Besides tours to Pakistan and India later this year, which include Tests, ODIs and T20s, the Proteas will also travel to Australia and England for limited overs series. Lungi Ngidi will also only be available for the second Test. Lesego Senokwane, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Codi Yusuf, Prenelan Subrayen and Dewald Brevis are the five uncapped players in the squad. The first Test starts on June 28. Proteas squad for Zimbabwe series David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj (capt), Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lhuan-dré Pretorious, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne, Codi Yusuf
Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Lungi Ngidi's redemption: How he silenced critics in Proteas' historic victory at Lord's
Lungi Ngidi says that despite the furore that followed after his inclusion in the World Test Championship final against Australia, he backed himself to deliver for his country. Criticism comes with the territory in sports — especially at the elite level. People will always have an opinion about you, it's unavoidable. One of the hallmarks of a good athlete is taking such jibes in your stride and doing your talking on the field. That's exactly what Proteas fast bowler Lungi Ngidi did during South Africa's World Test Championship (WTC) fina l five-wicket win over Australia in London. Known for his occasionally unorthodox decisions, South Africa's coach Shukri Conrad backed Ngidi to contribute to the team winning their first piece of international silverware since a Champions Trophy triumph in 1998. While team leaders such as captain Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada rose to the occasion with the spotlight firmly on them, Ngidi silenced a number of critics with his own sublime display in the final. No one expected the lanky fast bowler to aid South Africa's quest for global Test domination in any way. He was branded a liability. The critics pointed out that Ngidi had not played Test cricket in nearly a year. Fellow seamer Dane Paterson, on the other hand, was in great form. Recalled to the Test team for the first time in four years in 2024, Paterson was effective — picking up 21 wickets in five matches last year. As such, many followers of cricket believed the 36-year-old had earned his spot in the final, at the expense of Ngidi. But the Proteas hierarchy preferred Ngidi for this particular assignment, firmly backing him to deliver. Which he did during an inspired second innings in which he claimed three wickets for just 35 runs, in nine overs. Momentum-shifting spell He picked up three crucial wickets during his breathless spell — including that of Australian batting lynchpin Steve Smith. Rabada had disrupted the rhythm of Australia with two early wickets in their second innings — removing Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green. That brought Smith to the crease, alongside another threat with the bat — Marnus Labuschagne. Having dismissed South Africa for 138 in defence of their first-innings total of 212, the Australians still held their destiny in their own hands and were looking to build on their 122-run lead. Then came Ngidi, dismissing Smith for 13 to strike a heavy body blow on the Aussies. He followed up that crucial wicket with those of Beau Webster and Pat Cummins as Australia crumbled to 73 for seven. It was a defining spell by Ngidi, a moment of redemption after he had provided his critics with ammunition during a poor first innings in which he had been expensive, conceding 45 runs and failing to pick up a wicket during his eight-over shift. 'Focused on myself' At the team's homecoming press conference in Johannesburg, Ngidi told journalists that despite the noise around his selection and even his forgettable first-innings display, he never doubted his ability to vindicate Conrad and Bavuma for backing him. 'I was told to come on to bowl. Obviously, we knew the situation of the game. Who was at the crease as well, and it probably was the guy who was going to give them the best chance to get a massive lead,' said Ngidi of his blistering second-innings shift. 'I was just trying to get some rhythm. Temba was trying to tell me what balls to bowl, but I told him to just let me bowl. And that was about it,' Ngidi said. 'To me it's always been pretty much the same. What I've tried to do is obviously just block out the noise. There was obviously a lot to be said before the Test series started, but now I haven't heard anything but good things. So, it's funny how that's turned on its head,' the 29-year-old added. Ngidi's physical fitness had also been questioned in the build-up to the final, with the bowler supposedly looking out of shape. The seamer's career has also been blighted by injury, which has affected his pace. He says he's learnt to live with this reality. But he was also pleased with himself and his body after bowling nine successive overs at Lord's. 'Fitness is always people's opinions. You don't get put on the field unless the fitness trainer or the coach knows that you're going to be able to do the job. So, it's always a matter of opinion, as most things are when it comes to what the guys are doing on the field,' Ngidi said. 'In that moment, it's just a mental decision of 'I'm going to push through whatever I'm feeling right now or whatever mental block I've got.' So, it's a matter of people's opinions of when people say I look unfit. But if we had to probably run a race with each other, I'm probably the one who's going to win,' the pacer said. June has been quite a prosperous month for Ngidi. In addition to his Test final heroics, the bowler was part of the contingent that delivered Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first Indian Premier League title earlier this month. DM
IOL News
a day ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Lungi Ngidi responds to critics: 'Fitness is just an opinion'
NGIDI HITS BACK Lungi Ngidi silenced his critics with a stellar 3/38 performance in the World Test Championship final, as he insisted fitness was a matter of opinion. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL Though he went wicketless in the first innings of the WTC final, he came storming back in the second with 3/38, which included the key wicket of Steve Smith for 13 as South Africa went on to win by five wickets. In fact, Ngidi's last first-class match was SA's Test match against the West Indies in Port of Spain in August last year. Ahead of the WTC final, Ngidi had played no first-class cricket in the last few months except the two overs he bowled in the warm-up match against Zimbabwe last week. Lungi Ngidi has hit back at his critics following his top performance in the World Test Championship ( WTC ) final over the weekend. Ngidi's Mental Resilience and Fitness Debate: Turning Criticism into Sensational Performance 'What I've tried to do is obviously just block out the noise. There was obviously a lot to be said before the Test series started, but now I haven't heard anything but good things, so it's funny how that's turned on its head,' said Ngidi. While the main issue was that Dane Paterson, who was not picked for the match XI, had played far more cricket in similar conditions, Ngidi took it as purely a question of his fitness. 'Fitness is always people's opinions. You don't get put on the field unless the fitness trainer or the coach knows that you're going to be able to do a job. 'So it's always a matter of opinion as most things are when it comes to what the guys are doing on the field. In that moment, I think it's just a mental decision to push through whatever I'm feeling right now or whatever mental block I've got. 'It's a matter of people's opinions of when people say, oh, you look unfit, but if we had to probably run with each other, I'm probably the one who's going to win.' The way Ngidi turned it around in the second innings was nothing short of sensational, and the Proteas explained how he achieved the feat. 'After the first innings as well, like I said, I've been there before and I did struggle from that end as well. A couple of years ago, but it wasn't a matter of, you know, doubt, it was just rhythm. And maybe trying too hard, especially maybe trying to prove a point. 'At that time in the game, obviously, KG [Kagiso Rabada] had started off unbelievably. So trying to match that in a sense. But then again, every bowler has his own processes. So in the second innings, it was more about focusing on what I know I can do and execute that as best as possible.' @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
India.com
5 days ago
- Sport
- India.com
Great news for Kohli's RCB, star player missed IPL 2025 final, but...
In this collection of pictures we shall know the great news for Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru, it's about a star cricketer who missed IPL 2025. Let's dive in. South Africa had to wait 27 years to win the ICC trophy and RCB had to wait 18 years to become the IPL champion. This wait ended in just 11 days. First Virat Kohli's RCB became IPL champions by defeating Punjab Kings on June 3. Then on June 14, South Africa defeated Australia in the WTC final, ending a drought of 27 years. Do you know that there is a player who has become champion for the second time within 11 days. We are talking about South African star fast bowler Lungi Ngidi who was part of the RCB team in IPL 2025. Australia's star fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was also a part of the RCB team and had never lost a final in his career, but his record was broken in the WTC 2025 final. Lungi Ngidi bowled brilliantly in the WTC final. He turned the match around by taking the wicket of Australia's most reliable batsman Steve Smith. He took a total of 3 wickets in the match. "I am speechless," Lungi Ngidi said. "There was a lot of excitement on the field, which helped me on Day 3 of the match. I am proud of our achievement. The BP was high during the run chase. We worked hard for this moment," he added.
Hans India
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
WTC Final: 'The best wicket I could've gotten', Ngidi on Smith's dismissal
London: South Africa's Lungi Ngidi opened up about his devastating second innings spell on Day 2 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at Lord's and admitted that Steve Smith's dismissal was probably the "best wicket" he could have gotten. After South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada removed Usman Khawaja (6) and Cameron Green (0) in quick succession and Marco Jansen got Marnus Labuschagne (22), then Ngidi got the massive wicket of Smith, trapping him lbw for 13 to reduce Australia to 48/4. "I think because of the stage that we're playing on, that's probably the best wicket I could've gotten. Having struggled a bit in the first innings and then to be able to get that wicket, at that stage, it probably ranks very high up there for me. I can't put into words how I felt about taking that wicket. Such a relief," Ngidi told ICC Digital. After struggles on the opening day of the one-off Test, where he settled for figures of 0/45 from his eight overs, Ngidi bounced back on Day 2, claiming three for 53. "(I) probably tried to do too much, too early, ended up leaking runs, putting yourself under pressure and then you're chasing the game from there. I was putting a bit of pressure on myself. Bowling in the first innings, seeing the guys that have gone ahead, they've performed so well, taken wickets, you want to carry on that momentum," he said. '(With) Test cricket, you've got two chances as a bowler. The coach said, 'just go play your game, don't worry about anything that has gone on before, it's your moment now, when you get the ball, just make it count," Ngidi recalled. Pat Cummins' superb spell helped rout South Africa for just 138 and saw Australia take a lead of 74 on the first innings but the Proteas' quicks fired up in reply as Rabada and Ngidi combined for six wickets to leave the Aussies reeling at 144/8 in their second dig heading into the third day on Friday. "First innings probably didn't go as planned, so once I got a bit of rhythm from the other end, and I could feel that I was putting the ball in the right areas and there was still a bit of assistance in the wicket, I felt like that would probably be the dismissal, trying to set that up. "And then, yeah, got it spot on, so very happy about that. It definitely (meant a lot. (We're) excited about the position that we're in," Ngidi concluded.
