Anrich Nortje expressed his excitement for building a “raw pace” connection and partnership with pace aces Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, writes Khalid Mohidin.
One aspect that former Proteas coach Ottis Gibson brought to the fore was his obsession with quick bowlers. This saw the Proteas build one of the most feared bowling attacks in world cricket – Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn.
With Steyn now retired in Test cricket, Nortje will be expected to fill that void left by Steyn, and if there is one aspect that is clear is that the 25-year-old possess some extreme pace.
READ: “I WANT TO BUILD MY OWN GAME” – NORTJE
In an exclusive with Cricket Fanatics Magazine, Nortje expressed what excites him the most about teaming up with Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.
“Raw pace,” he said emphatically. “That’s the main thing. Ottis spoke about it a lot – having fast bowlers like the West Indies had back in the day.
“That’s also how I’ve also tried to go about things. Having two or three guys who can come at you with proper heat. Hopefully, that’s something we can build on and we can do because that’s not something you can really teach someone.
“We do have it at this stage and if we can build and work together as a group that will be unbelievable – to be a part of that sort of bowling unit. If we can come with raw pace that will be incredible.”
Although he didn’t have much time to spend with Gibson, Nortje expressed his thoughts on the former Proteas coach’s impact on him.
“He was very keen on the pace. Unfortunately, I never had much time to spend with him, only the four games or so. We just started working on a few basic technical things,” he said.
“Towards the second-last game he had a good look at everything… so I was a little bit bleak that I couldn’t spend a little more time with him because I think he’s an unbelievable bowling coach.
“I wanted to learn from him and would have liked to work more with him. One or two technical things he taught me made a massive difference.”
The Proteas play their first Test against India on 2 October 2019.
READ: NORTJE AIMS TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT
Photo: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix
