JOHANNESBURG: Sean Carlisle still remembers the day when a young Lungi Ngidi, playing for Hilton College in Durban watching his teammates being dismissed for fun by Kagiso Rabada. “Even then, KG used to be known for his pace and everybody was talking of him,” says Carlisle.
It was those days when Ngidi was still an unknown. “When everybody thought St Stithians would walk past the target of 90-odd, Ngidi left them terrified with pace. A couple of batsmen had to retire hurt and I remember one being rushed to the hospital,” Carlise says.
In the next couple of years, Carlisle would go on to work closely with Ngidi. Although Ngidi was a free-born, (born after South Africa became a democratic republic), he grew up at a time when the stigma was prevalent. His parents worked as helps at various places in Durban. Growing up in a humble background, Ngidi’s only comfort was education. He was one of those, who skipped cricket for classes.
With his talent already doing the talking, Hilton, renowned for its cricket, took Ngidi under their wings and provided him a grant. The only problem for the young Ngidi was that the move would take him away from his parents. Carlisle, who was then coach at Hilton, says, “When he came in as a boarding student, he went into his shell. He had trouble mingling.
But it was just a matter of days until we absorbed him into our sports facilities. You knew it then, this guy was special. When someone pushed him into the pool once, he swam to safety. And like many other players from South Africa, he tried his hand at other sports, but cricket, especially fast-bowling, brought a different kind of life in him,” he says.
On his first net session, Carlisle remembers how Ngidi walked in without a kit, only for the coach to get a true picture of his background. “He was very open about it. He said, ‘I didn’t have money to buy one. And who wants to bat when I want to bowl fast.’ And that was that.”
As he was getting closer to graduation, several other university coaches had started knocking on his door. Among them was Pierre de Bryun, a former first-class cricketer, who was so intent on taking him to Tuks, which comes under the University of Pretoria, and has produced quite a few South African cricketers. But it was not easy convincing Ngidi, who still had doubts over what to do in life.
“It took him three years actually,” Ngidi says. “He first arrived in my Grade 10 year and asked me to come to the Titans then. I wasn’t having it. But it was amazing how consistently he would arrive and keep asking for me. I wanted to see if he really meant it, so I also played hard to get. Eventually, in my matric year, I wanted to further my studies while playing cricket at the same time and he offered me that opportunity. When I arrived in Pretoria, I honestly didn’t know where it was going to go. I thought to myself: ‘just play, do what you can do as best you can’.”
At Tuks, he had former New Zealand Test player Kruger Van Dyk, who as Cricket’s Head of Programme, worked closely with Ngidi. “Apart from his cricket, what stood apart was that he never forgot where he came from. He was humble and always put in the hard work because he knew what it meant to him. I have never seen him take a practice session so lightly. He was so sincere about it. All his best mates are still here and he often says there is a spiritual soul in this place. He told me, nothing can stop him from coming back here,” Van Dyk says.
Little did Ngidi know then that after making his South Africa debut, he would revisit Tuks during his worst phase. A stress fracture meant he was sidelined for six months. And it was at Tuks that he found his energy back. “It was a hard phase, to be honest. To see him low, like never before was not a pleasing one. But we helped him to get over it and spoke about the good things he did. He started believing he can do it because he was seeing KG make all the headlines. They are good friends, but there is something that spurs Ngidi when he sees KG bowling.”
On Friday, Van Dyk had a surprise visitor. Just two days after bowling South Africa to victory with a six-wicket haul in the second innings in Centurion, Ngidi arrived at Tuks for a social gathering. “There were plenty of kids and he spent time clicking pictures with them and spoke to us like nothing has changed in his life. That is what sets him apart.” As for Ngidi the bottom line is simple: “I want to have a long career.”
Lungi Dance
South Africa speedster Lungi Ngidi was sensational in his debut Test against India. Express takes a look at his life before second Test.
Early stage
Initially picked up as a T20 prospect with his performance in the Africa Cup in September 2015. Was even awarded the Africa T20 Player of the tournament in July 2016. Made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in January 2017 and picked up six wickets in three matches at an economy rate of 5.50.
Injury prone
He was then part of the ODI squad but pulled out because of an abdominal muscle injury. He was then included in South Africa A side that toured England in July 2017, where he suffered a back injury. It took four months to recover. Since his comeback he played only one First Class match and returned with the figures of 9 for 83.
Part of Titans
Was promoted to the Titans for 2015-16 season. His best T20 figures of 4 for 14 came against Warriors in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.
TEST
Match Wickets Average
1 7 12.85
T20I
Match Wickets Average
3 6 7.33
First Class
Match Wickets Average
10 38 3.18
Name
Lungi Ngidi
Name
Lungi Ngidi
Teams
South Africa, Titans
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com