Lungi Ngidi will play his first Test in ten months and just his third under coach Shukri Conrad at the World Test Championship final at Lord's. In an assault that will also include Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, and Keshav Maharaj, Ngidi was officially named in South Africa's starting lineup, ahead of Dane Paterson, since he has more speed and bounce.
"It was definitely one of the hardest decisions that have been made," Temba Bavuma, the captain of South Africa, stated during his interviews before the game. "We've seen what Patto Paterson accomplished for us after the previous season. However, from a tactical perspective, Lungi is a little bit faster. He is also taller.
A bowler's height is a significant advantage on the Lord's slope. While Jansen is 2.06m and Ngidi is 1.93m tall, all quicks in Australia are at least 1.90m tall. Mulder is the smallest of the quicks on both teams, standing at 1.85m. His medium-paced bowling style, which allows him to move the ball, was deemed too similar to Paterson's to be included in an assault seeking variation.
The addition of Ngidi can still be risky. He has previously played at Lord's, where he bowled 12 overs in two innings against England in 2022, with scores of 1 for 27.
In addition, Ngidi did not play red-ball cricket last summer and has only participated in two Test matches in the past 18 months. On Monday afternoon, he practiced with Rabada, Jansen, and Mulder as Stuart Broad watched.
In August of last year, Ngidi bowled 16.5 overs with a haul of 1 for 51 in South Africa's Test match against the West Indies, which was his final first-class match. Ngidi has struggled with several injuries since November 2022 and has only bowled more than ten overs in a Test match twice. The most recent was a groin issue that prevented him from playing from mid-November of last year until January of this year.
Ngidi participated in all of South Africa's Champions Trophy games and five SA20 games this season. In a rain-affected warm-up match against Zimbabwe in Arundel, he bowled two overs, but it is unclear how well he will perform in extended stretches, or in third, fourth, and fifth spells if necessary.
In the two Test matches he played during the home summer of 2024–25, Paterson proved himself in that respect, taking 13 wickets at the best average of 16.92 in 68 overs.
However, Paterson and Mulder only played together once in a Test match, in October of last year in Bangladesh, where the spinners took control and both batsmen had a modest second-innings load.
South Africa's aim to balance their attack and extend their batting lineup has ultimately cost Paterson the opportunity to have the ideal send-off. At 36, he is nearing the end of his career and has not been included in their squad for the Test match against Zimbabwe later this month. In the meantime, Ngidi and Mulder, who are 29 and 27, respectively, will make up the core for the upcoming years.
In the WTC final, Mulder will also bat at number three, something he has only done twice in his career, both times for South Africa.
Last year, the first was against Sri Lanka in Durban. Following Tony de Zorzi's dismissal in the 12th over, Mulder volunteered to try to remove the gloss from a brand-new ball. However, he injured his right middle finger, which prevented him from playing cricket for the remainder of 2024. Mulder made a comeback for the Test match against Pakistan in the New Year, scoring five runs while batting at number three once more.
With an average of 39.20, No. 5 is his most productive batting position among the top seven in all first-class cricket. However, Tristan Stubbs, who was initially assigned the No. 3 position, has been selected by South Africa. The other hitter in the lineup is opener de Zorzi, who is currently not regarded as a No. 3 batsman after losing his position to Ryan Rickelton.
"Mulder is certainly very young for that role. Yet after playing with Mulder and witnessing his growth over the past two years in red-ball cricket, Bavuma stated, "It is about giving him a lot more confidence, backing him, and letting him do what he does best." "Under pressure, he has an opportunity. However, I believe he can find solace in the fact that the boys are on his side. All we want is for him to go out and do what he does best.
Hashim Amla, the most successful player in South Africa at No. 3 out of all those who have batted there at least 20 times, may be able to offer some guidance to Mulder if he is seeking it.
Amla scored 25 hundreds and averaged 49.95 in that role. Alongside former captain Graeme Smith, he was welcomed into the ICC's Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. His first piece of advice to Mulder was to get ready to bat as soon as possible.
"A fresh ball must be manageable for you. That is because you usually arrive at No. 3 quite early, so you are constantly preparing for that," Amla explained. Both having a solid technique and having a lot of experience hitting in the top order are essential. For a long time, that maintains the caliber of a strong No. 3 batsman.
Amla, like Mulder, believes that players can develop into a No. 3 even though she was not a natural at it.
"I was not a No. 3 batter when I started at three. The only gap at that point was South Africa's batting at three, and I actually enjoyed batting at four and five," Amla stated. "I did what they ordered me to do. I played for the Dolphins for a season before joining the national squad.
There is a moment for them to start, even though this present squad may not have any players who have batted at three domestically. It might also be Wiaan's time if he bats at three.
It is difficult to be in the deep end like that, even when it is a major final, and you have to be honest that you need time to understand the position. He can, however, make it work. He is technically sound, and South Africa appears to be playing a slightly more aggressive kind of cricket.
Your technique is therefore not as thoroughly tested in many respects. You are taking a few more shots than usual, so that could work with South Africa's style of play."
Stubbs might be the more aggressive of the two candidates for No. 3. However, South Africa chose to shift him down the order, where he can play with more flair, after testing him at No. 3 for five Test matches, when he averaged 44.71, although on rather flat tracks. Between Mulder and Stubbs, Bavuma will bat at number four.
Mulder and Stubbs' fortunes depend as much, if not more, on Bavuma's performances as the two younger players who bat with him because he has been South Africa's top Test run scorer over the past five years.