Nortje and Ngidi back in running for World Cup

If‚ as the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu had it‚ “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”‚ Anrich Nortje is two steps ahead of schedule.

London‚ where the World Cup starts on May 30‚ is more than 6,000 miles – almost 10,000km – from the Eastern Cape‚ where Nortje is battling his way back from a shoulder injury that has kept him off the field for a month.

“I’ve been doing a lot of rehab and I’ve started bowling off three steps‚” the fast bowler said on Tuesday.

“It’s just progressing as things go along.”

The good news for Nortje is that he has‚ according to SA’s team management‚ been declared available for selection in the World Cup squad‚ which will be announced on Thursday.

So has Lungi Ngidi‚ who is recovering from a side strain and‚ like Nortje‚ last played a game on March 16.

Both men are scheduled to feature in “return to play” matches – part of Cricket SA’s protocol for managing players coming back from injury – late next week. Ngidi‚ who has the lowest average among all the bowlers who have played more than one one-day international for SA in 2019 and is behind only Imran Tahir in economy rate terms‚ is surely a certainty for the World Cup first XI.

Nortje‚ who is second in the averages and third on the economy list in ODIs in 2019‚ has done more than enough in his four ODIs to earn a place in the squad.

The most pressing question selection convener Linda Zondi will answer on Thursday is whether Hashim Amla is on the plane to England.

The top order stalwart has not played for SA since February owing to his father’s serious illness.

Amla’s 7,910 ODI runs‚ including 27 centuries‚ in 171 innings surely make his selection as close to automatic as it could be.

But there will be concerns about his readiness for so weighty a challenge coming off the back of a testing time for him personally.

● The CSA T20 Challenge between the Warriors and the Dolphins in Durban was abandoned due to rain. –