Rabada's injury will certainly keep him out of the ODIs next month.
Already he is out of an ODI series against Australia next month.
If true, that would take Rabada out of the mix for most or all of South Africa’s three Tests against Australia in October.
A rib injury took him out of South Africa’s 2-0 win in India a month later.
Losing his talent, skill, experience and sheer presence for the Australia series would be a serious blow.
Rabada's injury will certainly keep him out of the ODIs next month. © Getty
Rabada's injury will certainly keep him out of the ODIs next month. © Getty
Kagiso Rabada’s hopes of being involved in an important part of the rest of South Africa’s defence of their World Test Championship title appear to be hanging by a dodgy hamstring. Already he is out of an ODI series against Australia next month.
On August 21, CSA said Rabada’s “winter training programme has been disrupted after he sustained a right hamstring injury during training earlier this week. He is currently being monitored by the Proteas medical team and will undergo further assessments.”
That vagueness of that pronouncement seemed to take a great leap towards clarity on Sunday when Rapport, an Afrikaans-language website, quoted Allan Donald — Rabada’s bowling coach at the Lions — as saying “our physio has established that he would be on the sidelines for nine or 10 weeks because of a grade-three tear to his right hamstring”.
If true, that would take Rabada out of the mix for most or all of South Africa’s three Tests against Australia in October. Ten weeks from August 21 takes us to October 16. The series starts at Kingsmead on October 9 and is scheduled to end at Newlands on October 31.
Asked for confirmation, CSA said: “Kagiso Rabada is currently progressing through the early stages of his rehabilitation from a right hamstring injury under the close supervision of the CSA medical team. He will miss the three-match ODI series against Australia, scheduled from September 24 to 30. His availability for the Test series against Australia will depend on how he progresses through his rehabilitation, with a decision on his selection to be made closer to the series.”
Rabada is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker among active bowlers with 340 at 22.03 in his 73 Tests. He is the lynchpin of their attack, particularly on the faster surfaces on which his team will play most of their matches leading to the WTC final at The Oval next June.
South Africa need to win seven of the 10 Tests they will play against the Aussies, England and Bangladesh — all at home — and in Sri Lanka from November to March next year to be certain of reaching the final.
Rabada took only four wickets in 56 overs in the drawn two-match series in Pakistan in October. A rib injury took him out of South Africa’s 2-0 win in India a month later. But he was key to their five-wicket win over Australia in the final at Lord’s last June, when he took 5/51 and 4/59.
Losing his talent, skill, experience and sheer presence for the Australia series would be a serious blow. In his only other home rubber against them — the tumultuous Sandpapergate series in March and April 2018 — he was the top bowler in either team with 23 wickets at 19.26. He claimed nine in the first Test at Kingsmead and 11 in the second match at St George’s Park.
But South Africa’s pace stocks run deep, even if Nandré Burger is out with a back injury and Lutho Sipamla has been removed from the Namibia T20I triseries with his own hamstring issue.
Gerald Coetzee has had his problems with assorted hurts, but he is currently fit and firing — he got through 11 and 7.2 overs in a four-day match between the South Africa and Bangladesh A teams in Pretoria last week and took 3/31 and 1/29.
The growth in twenty-year-old Kwena Maphaka’s confidence and control was apparent on an A tour to England in June, when he took three wickets at an economy rate of 4.23 in two list A games. Against Zimbabwe in Windhoek on Saturday, he bowled all of his overs and claimed 1/24.
Duan Jansen, the twin brother of Marco Jansen — Rabada’s new-ball partner — made a decent start to his international career in Namibia, where he took 2/32 against the home side on Friday and 3/45 against the Zimbabweans a day later.
Eathan Bosch made his debut in the latter match. Watched from the stands by his brother, Corbin Bosch, he took 1/20 in four overs.
Anrich Nortjé hasn’t played a first-class match since he took 5/36 and 1/48 against West Indies at Centurion in February and March 2023. Might he be a project for Shukri Conrad, player whisperer?
On top of that, how Lungi Ngidi’s mastery of the slower ball in white-ball cricket might translate into the Test arena is eagerly anticipated.
