Bowling coach Charl Langeveldt was impressed by the Proteas’ seam attack, despite the absence of the injured Kagiso Rabada, during March’s ODI series against Australia.

A groin injury prevented Rabada from playing in the ODI series, which South Africa won 3-0. Instead, the hosts fielded a bowling attack spearheaded by Ngidi and complemented by the inexperienced Lutho Sipamla and Anrich Nortje.

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‘Kagiso is a match-winner and, when you lose a guy like that, it is difficult to replace him. In saying that, Lutho, Anrich, Tabraiz Shamsi and others really bowled well as a unit. We showed that we can compete at international level with a young bowling attack,’ said Langeveldt.

‘When Kagiso got injured, it made it hard for us to compete in the next few matches. A guy like Lungi put up his hand and had an excellent performance.

‘The guys played really well in patches, but during the Australia ODIs we really started gelling well as a bowling department. Most of the time, the guys got it right. Ngidi played brilliantly and, overall, the team played much better as a unit in the bowling, batting and fielding.’

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This is Langeveldt’s second stint with the Proteas coaching staff. He has also worked with Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

‘Director of cricket Graeme Smith and Cricket South Africa’s acting chief executive officer Jaques Faul were brilliant in getting me back, being able to make the transfer to coach my country after spending time with Bangladesh,’ he added.

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