Johannesburg: South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi said the team is moving in the right direction despite admitting that there is still a lot of work to be done.
“The team did very well in the end, there were a lot of steps in the right direction. Obviously, there’s still a lot of work to be done but it was very good to see those wins… I just think you can see the other teams have had these teams for a very long time and we’ve got probably another four or five new guys that have come into the team now,” Ngidi said in a statement.
“For us it’s obviously a different phase but it’s moving in the right direction. It was good to see the wins that were happening but there’s still a bit of work to do,” he added.
It has been a challenging home summer for South Africa as they lost their only Test series 3-1 to England before the 50-over world champions drew the ODI leg of the tour (1-1) and won their three-match T20I series 2-1.
The team also suffered a defeat in the T20 series (2-1) against Australia but bounced back to beat the same opponents 3-0 in the ODIs.
After making his international debut in 2017, Nigidi’s sustained several injuries. He had missed South Africa’s four-match Test series against England in December and January after sustaining a hamstring injury during the Mzansi Super League (MSL).
“I’d say the road back to cricket wasn’t as bad as people think. I’m not shy to work hard, so it wasn’t an unfamiliar area for me and to be honest, I didn’t feel as though I was down and out,” he said.
“Like I’ve always said, every person has a different formula and I was still trying to figure mine out and going to (fitness) camp with the CoE (Cricket South Africa Centre of Excellence in January) helped me do that. I figured out that I’ve probably got to work a lot harder than than other people. It doesn’t come as naturally. So it just helped me and put me down the right path,” Ngidi added.