Lungi Ngidi was preferred against Dan Paterson for the final of the World Test Championship. This line looks easy and normal but of course it wasn;t easy for Ngidi to step up in that final as he was playing a Test match after a gap of 10 months. He featured lastly against West Indies in August last year and if anything he looked rusty in it.
There were legitimate concerns over whether South Africa had committed a tactical error given Dane Paterson’s track record of success in county cricket (albeit he took 180 wickets for Nottinghamshire rather than Middlesex) and the overhead circumstances that would have suited a bowler of his style.
The question of whether they had to choose Ngidi in order to satisfy transformation requirements was also discussed.
Temba Bavuma had said that Ngidi’s selection was “a tactical decision” because of his speed and ability to provide extra bounce, which is precisely what Ngidi saw as his function.
And guess what, Lungi did not disappoint his captain, his team, and his nation who were rallying behind him. He took 3 wickets in the second innings after remaining wicketless in the 1st innings of the match.
“It’s been a very long time since I’ve played Test cricket, ten months, and that’s okay with me,” Ngidi told BBC after play on day two at Lord’s.
“Obviously I know why I was selected. It doesn’t make a difference to me: opinions, or whatever it is. I was just struggling with a bit of rhythm from this side, swapped ends, and I felt a lot better.”
On the first night, Radaba recommended a “steak, a milkshake, and a movie” to Ngidi, but it was a change of scenery that worked. On day two, Ngidi was much more efficient when bowling up the slope from the Nursery End. Mostly back of decent, with the occasional fuller ball for variation, his lines were tighter and his lengths more focused. He raced in with positive energy, appeared to be in the zone, and seemed to want more.
“Once you get a moment like that, you don’t want to really let it go because it could change the game,” he said. “So I just kept going until my legs pretty much told me that’s enough now. I was planning on going a little bit more, but once you start making a few errors that could let the team or the opposition in, then it’s probably time to call it.”
Ngidi played a major role in Africa’s triumphant and it was because of this teammates stood by him after a tiring 1st innings spell
“Lungi’s a chilled guy, so I don’t think it would have affected him that much,” David Bedingham said at the post-match press conference. “As soon as he changed ends, he looked a lot more comfortable and for him to bowl nine overs on the bounce takes a massive amount of effort.”
Of the rewards he had, Ngidi enjoyed Smith’s wicket the most “because he did get the better of me in the first innings but Beau Webster as well because they were definitely putting me under pressure”. “But once I got a bit of rhythm and the ball was moving around a bit, I felt very confident.”
