In a WTC final of tight margins Ngidi’s lack of discipline costly for Proteas

South Africa won’t apportion blame to one player for the tricky position they found themselves in at the end of the first day, but it was hard not to watch Australia’s attack give the Proteas batters absolutely nothing in the last session of play on Wednesday and not think: “What was Lungi Ngidi doing?”

Steve Smith and Kagiso Rabada explained how difficult the Lord’s surface was for batting. It nipped and moved around a lot, said Rabada. “It offered something all day,” said Smith. 

But where Australia’s attack conceded two or less runs per over, and Rabada, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder were all 3.5 runs or less when they bowled, Ngidi’s economy rate of 5.62 sticks out like a sore thumb.

He certainly bowled like someone with an injured digit. Smith said Australia’s batters didn’t deliberately counterattack after lunch, when their scoring rate shot up to 4.7 runs an over. “We got a few more loose balls that we could put away,” he said.

Those primarily were delivered by Ngidi, who conceded seven boundaries. “They didn’t miss their lengths and they bowled really well,” Rabada said of the Australians.

In a match where the margins are so tight Ngidi’s lack of discipline, his inability to control neither line nor length in conditions in which the ball moved more for the South Africans than it did for the Australians — because of the cloud cover — is unforgivable.      

“We thought probably 160 is what we should have had them at,” Rabada said of Australia’s first innings total of 212. Ngidi conceded 45 runs in his eight overs and there were also 10 no-balls, five from Wiaan Mulder. 

Before the Test, Temba Bavuma said Ngidi’s selection over Dane Paterson was “one of the tougher decisions that have been made”. Paterson bowled superbly when called upon at home last summer — claiming two five-wicket hauls — while Ngidi has only played in two Tests during Shukri Conrad’s tenure as coach.

The decision was a tactical one, Bavuma explained, outlining how Ngidi’s height could cause trouble on a surface where the bounce might get tricky later and that he bowls quicker than Paterson. 

The trouble is, that being taller and faster means nothing when the basic demands of Test match bowling aren’t adhered to. Ngidi may look in better shape than he has for a long time, but he simply doesn’t bowl enough at domestic first class level to warrant a start in the Test team.

The two Tests he’s played under Conrad — one against India at the start of 2024, and then last August against the West Indies — are the only two first class matches he’s played since December 2022.

On social media, Dale Steyn pointed out that Ngidi’s run-up “needs serious work”.

“He starts good the first half and unfortunately by the time he hits the second half he’s almost dropped in speed and momentum, pedestrian really, [he’s then] forced to then use his body and action for pace. It’s then always a fight to deliver consistency,” Steyn tweeted.

There’s still time left in this Test, so Rabada is not giving up on his mate. “I’ll tell him to have a good night’s sleep, a nice steak, a nice milkshake, watch a movie and come back tomorrow.”