Fast bowlers are almost guaranteed to have injuries at some point in their careers, and Proteas quick Anrich Nortjé is no exception to the rule.
Nortjé suffered a back injury in September, an injury that saw him miss the entire ODI World Cup in India last year.
However, it was not the first ODI World Cup that the 30-year-old had missed out on due to injury, as the fast bowler picked up a finger issue in 2019, weeks before the World Cup, and subsequently missed out on that event as well.
This time around, the Proteas fast bowler spent five months sitting on the sidelines and doing rehab work because of the back injury.
However, Nortjé has recently returned to action in the ongoing Cricket SA T20 Challenge, and has played three matches so far.
In each of the games, the right-arm quick has bowled a full complement of four overs.
Additionally, the paceman has gone through his work without any signs of struggle, a positive sign for South Africa as back injuries are often difficult to recover from.
Speaking to Independent Newspapers yesterday as the Warriors faced Western Province at St George’s Park in Gqeberha, Nortjé emphasised that his body feels better than he had expected it to be at this time of his return to action.
“The biggest thing (when out of action due to injury) is to try to switch off from cricket, take it easy, go on with life and then get back to the cricket specifics when the time is right. That’s more or less what I was doing,” said Nortjé.
“The body is feeling really good, better than expected, I suppose. Getting back to cricket again, it’s nice to be playing my third game back home now.”
Yesterday, Nortjé returned figures of 1-42 in his four overs during the Warriors’ encounter with WP.
For Nortjé, the competition is important in that it affords him the opportunity to hone his skills in time to make the Proteas T20 World Cup squad, which is expected to be announced in May.
The fast bowler stated that it means a lot to him that he is back playing competitive cricket again, despite not having the best of games against Province yesterday.
“Coming from nothing for a good few months straight back into cricket, from a personal perspective, it’s massive to be playing again, especially T20s,” he said.
“Today was a bit of an off-day, otherwise it’s been good so far.
“I’m just trying to build in every game, trying to improve and get back to the level where I was before the injury.
“I just have to keep ticking over, keep doing the work behind the scenes (to be ready for the Word Cup).”
Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter has a number of options on the fast-bowling front, more so given the rise of newbies Gerald Coetzee and Nandré Burger.
However, Nortjé is one of the fastest bowlers in the world, if not the fastest – having regularly produced deliveries of above 150km/h for the Proteas and in the IPL – and that alone puts him on a level of his own.
Should the 30-year-old speedster – who is set to join his IPL team Delhi Capitals soon, as he is awaiting the birth of his first child – get back to the level he was at before the injury, South Africa will have a better chance in the T20 World Cup in the US and the West Indies in June.