JOHANNESBURG: Cricket South Africa’s World Cup campaign suffered a significant setback as they announced the unfortunate injuries sidelining two of their star fast bowlers, Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala, on Thursday.
In a bid to fill the void left by the injured duo, the team has called upon the versatile all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo and fast bowler Lizaad Williams.
Nortje’s absence is particularly disheartening for South Africa’s World Cup prospects, given his reputation for delivering game-changing spells with blistering pace. Renowned as one of the fastest bowlers globally, often clocking speeds exceeding 150 km/h, Nortje’s prowess earned him the coveted Cricketer of the Year award at CSA’s July awards ceremony.
Unfortunately, his World Cup journey takes another unfortunate detour due to a suspected lower back stress fracture, which forced him to exit the field prematurely after bowling just five overs during South Africa’s recent five-match series against Australia. It will be the Nortje second consecutive World Cup to be missed due to injury, having been sidelined by a broken right thumb during the 2019 tournament in England.
Meanwhile, the robustly built Magala, who also featured in only one game against Australia, has yet to fully recover from a lingering left knee injury.
In contrast, Williams has played just one one-day international match against Ireland that too in back 2021. However, his performance was remarkable in the recent Twenty20 international series against Australia.
Phehlukwayo has played 76 one-day internationals but hasn’t been a consistent member of the squad in the past two seasons.
South Africa will fly to India on Saturday to participate in the World Cup.
South Africa Revised Squad:
Squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wkt), Gerald Coetzee, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams.
