Proteas’ white ball coach Rob Walter has backed fast bowler Anrich Nortje to get back to his back after returning from a six-month injury lay-off.
Nortje, who missed the Proteas’ Cricket World Cup campaign last year, recently returned to action and featured in the CSA T20 Challenge and Indian Premier League. It comes as the Proteas prepare for the upcoming T20 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies and United States.
And in the recent T20I series against the West Indies, where the Proteas suffered a 3-0 whitewash, the 30-year-old struggled to get any rhythm as he bowled 40 overs, picking up nine wickets for 449 runs.
Despite his and the team’s struggles, Walter felt it was a matter of time before Nortje was back to his best.
"They've been tough conditions for a fast bowler and [Nortje was] coming up against a side who were pretty brutal if you were off the mark,“ the Proteas’ coach said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“He probably experienced the exact same thing having come off a break into his first four games at the IPL. So he probably landed himself in a perfect storm, which in many ways can harden you and get you even more ready.
"I still don't believe he's very far away. A world-class performer finds a way and I don't doubt that he will as well."
The Proteas will have an inter-squad warm-up match before they get their T20 World Cup campaign going when they take on Sri Lanka in New York next Tuesday.
IOL Sport