IND vs SA: Anrich Nortje 'Not 100% There Yet' But Hopes He Is On The Right Path

Anrich Nortje, a fast bowler for South Africa, is still a long way from his previous level following back and hip problems that kept him out of play for about five months. 

Nortje was cleared of any major injuries just before the IPL 2022 season began, and he was able to complete his recovery with the Delhi Capitals. He returned in the Capitals’ third game of the competition, but it took him nearly a month to play his next match and return to the starting XI.

Anrich Nortje ended the tournament with nine wickets at an economy rate of 9.71 from six games. He has three wickets in as many games in the present T20I series against India, with an economy rate of 9.50. 

Anrich Nortje Not Back To His Best Yet

“No, not yet,” Nortje said when asked if he was back to his best.

“I am still working on it, still trying to find one or two things, and body-wise also I am not 100% yet there where I want to be. It’s just about slowly increasing and slowly building it up.

I would probably rate myself from where I was last year in the IPL and at the start of the World Cup, so still trying to get there. 

“Some of the bowling is limited, you can’t always just go out and bowl eight or nine overs in a day. But so far it has been a good challenge.

I think it’s something that will help me a lot if there are any other niggles or injuries going forward. But it has been a long time and [there are] some important things to remember and take out of this.” 

But could he pinpoint what was missing? “If I knew exactly what it was, I would have done it,” he laughed.

“I generally keep it very simple, stick to the basics. So it’s just going to be a small, minor adjustment.

I am working on something at this stage and will see how it goes. Hopefully, I am on the right path. It’s not like it’s completely out of shape. It’s just small margins for me.” 

Anrich Nortje Not Bothered About Who Is The Fastest

Nortje is one of the world’s quickest bowlers when completely healthy. He hit 156.2kph in the IPL 2020, which was the fastest delivery speed in the league from 2012 and 2020.

This year, Umran Malik, a member of India’s current T20I team, set a new record by bowling at 156.9kph, but Lockie Ferguson of Gujarat Titans took the lead with 157.3kph in the final versus Rajasthan Royals. Nortje, on the other hand, is more concerned with his team’s success than with being the quickest bowler in the world. 

“At this stage, I’m not bothered too much about who is the fastest and what the speed gun says,” he said. 

 “It’s about what I can contribute for the team. When you train, when you are not playing, you obviously think about how you can crank it faster with your work, your training, your gym, or whatever you’re doing.

So in the back of my mind, it’s something that I would like to keep on striving towards. But it’s not something I’m thinking about when I go onto the field. 

“Malik is a very good bowler, very fast bowler. He showed what he can do. And if he gets faster, great for him. If I get faster, great for me. But I don’t think we are at that stage where we are competing to try and just bowl the fastest ball. It’s about winning games and trying to contribute.” 

We Need To Seal The Series As Soon As Possible: Anrich Nortje

South Africa leads the five-match T20I series 2-1, and Nortje emphasised that the side wants to wrap off the series as soon as possible, without allowing India a chance. 

“I said at the last game as well that this was sort of like a final for us. We obviously didn’t perform well or anything to what we are capable of. So this would probably be like a final again for us.

A second chance but we need to seal the series as soon as possible and not give them an opportunity or any sniff, that’s the main goal of this series as well.” 

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