South Africa has been dealt with a serious blow ahead of the third ODI against Australia with fast bowler Anrich Nortje being ruled out of the next game. He suffered a back spasm during the second ODI and went back to the pavilion after bowling just five overs and did not take the field for the rest of the match. The injury to Nortje comes as a big blow to the Protease who are already without the services of another fast bowler Sisanda Magala who was ruled out of the series before the second ODI and Andile Phehlukwayo was added as his replacement.
The 29-year-old will undergo scans in Johannesburg on Monday to determine the extent of the injury and hence will not be able to participate in the third ODI on 12 September. South Africa will be sweating on the results of the scans given the start of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is less than a month away and the Proteas first match at the tournament is scheduled to take place in Delhi on October 7 against Sri Lanka.
Do or Die
With three One-Day Internationals remaining, the Proteas will need to up the ante and win consecutive games to clinch the series. Meanwhile, a win in the next game at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom would give Mitchell Marsh and company an unassailable series lead.
South Africa will be under immense pressure having lost the first two ODIs by a huge margin, especially in the second ODI in which Australia posted a humongous 392 runs in their stipulated 50 overs of the contest courtesy of centuries by Marnus Labuschagne (124 off 99 balls) and David Warner (106 off 93 balls) coupled with an invaluable knock by Travis Head, who scored a quick-fire 64 off 36 balls.
The Return
After missing out on the series opener, Nortje had only come into the playing XI for the second ODI in place of Lungi Ngidi. He was also not part of the T20I squad that suffered a 3-0 loss to Australia recently. Prior to the ongoing ODI series against the Aussies, he was seen playing in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) and the 2023 Major League Cricket (MLC).
