da 888casino： Both fast bowlers missed the whole of South Africa’s international home season with injuries
da pixbet： Firdose Moonda13-Jan-2025Fast bowlers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi have been selected in South Africa’s ODI squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy after missing the entire home international season with injuries.Nortje was due to play in the white-ball matches against Pakistan but missed out with a broken toe, while Ngidi was ruled out ahead of the summer with a groin injury. Ngidi has since made his return at the SA20 for Paarl Royals while Nortje is due to play for Pretoria Capitals in the coming weeks and both are fully fit ahead of a busy 2025. The Champions Trophy will be their first international cricket in seven and four months respectively.Related
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The 15-member squad will be led by Temba Bavuma and includes ten players who were part of the group that qualified for the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Of the newcomers, Wiaan Mulder, Tony de Zorzi and Ryan Rickelton will be playing their first senior ICC event while Nortje returns in place of the most notable omission Gerald Coetzee, who has also struggled with injuries.Coetzee was put on a 12-week conditioning block after last year’s Major League Cricket (MLC) and returned at the start of the season before suffering a groin injury in the Durban Test against Sri Lanka. He has not returned to play but is part of the Joburg Super Kings squad at the SA20 and was in contention for a Champions Trophy spot, after finishing as South Africa’s leading bowler at the 2023 ODI World Cup.Anrich Nortje last played an ODI in September 2023•SA 20
White-ball coach Rob Walter explained the selection was a straight shootout between Nortje and Coetzee. “They both offer high pace but Anrich has a little bit more experience and potentially some attributes that will stand us in good stead in Pakistan,” Walter said from his home in New Zealand. “Gerald was a tough one because he’s ultimately done nothing wrong to not be selected.”Walter is also confident that Nortje, who has had a string of injuries over the last three years and opted out of a national contract in order to manage his workload, will remain fit for the upcoming months. “When he came back into the short format squads to play against Pakistan, he was bowling really quickly and was very excited to be back on the international stage,” Walter said. “Then, unfortunately, Dave Miller produced one of his best yorkers and hit him on the toe. Outside of that, he was super fit and super energised to be playing for South Africa again. And this was just one of those unfortunate circumstances. He’s an ultimate professional. He looks after himself, takes care of his conditioning. From my side, I trust him and trust that he’ll be ready to go.”South Africa will have five frontline quicks in Nortje, Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder at their disposal – with no room for Andile Phehlukwayo – and two specialist spinners, along with Aiden Markram’s offspin. Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi have kept their places but left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin misses out because South Africa “just didn’t feel the need for an extra spinner”.A more interesting selection conundrum could come in their top order, where South Africa will be without Quinton de Kock at an ICC event for the first time since 2014. De Kock retired from ODIs after the 2023 ODI World Cup and South Africa have not really settled on a partner for Bavuma in his absence but Walter gave some indication of what they are considering.”Temba and Tony have been at the top of the order and both done a really good job. There’s a potential for a few changes at the top of the order to give us a different balance of our side, which we may look into as we get closer to the tournament. A guy like Aidan Markram can be considered there in those two top spots. And obviously Rassie [van der Dussen] has been a stalwart at No.3. So we’re hesitant to change his position given the way he’s contributed there.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs are two other top-order options ahead of a powerful middle-order of David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, all of whom are in action at the SA20. Bavuma and de Zorzi are the only two players in South Africa’s squad who are not contracted for the franchise T20 competition and so will not have that game time ahead of the Champions Trophy. They will, however, be part of South Africa’s squad that will travel to Pakistan for a short tri-series which precedes the event. The rest of the squad will be determined by which players are not involved in the SA20 final, which takes place on February 8. South Africa’s first match of the tri-series is scheduled on February 10.South Africa are in group B of the Champions Trophy and begin their campaign against Afghanistan in Karachi on February 21. They then play Australia in Rawalpindi on February 25 and their final group game is against England on March 1. There have been concerns from the country’s sports minister over the Afghanistan fixture, given the restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan but Walter and his team have expressed no reservations with the fixture going ahead. “CSA sent out a release last Thursday that we’d take the lead from the ICC on this one, who will ultimately make that decision as to the participation of Afghanistan,” Walter said.The top two teams in group A and B will qualify for the semi-finals. The 2025 Champions Trophy begins on February 19 and will be played in Pakistan and the UAE. It is the first time the tournament is being played since 2017, and Pakistan are the current holders of the trophy. South Africa’s Champions Trophy squadTemba Bavuma (capt), Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen
