Ottis Gibson already has a problem: a crippling bowler shortage
The new Proteas coach was officially unveiled on Tuesday and already has to deal with four leading bowlers being injured.
Vernon Philander has batted away criticism over his fitness. Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images.
A lack of time to prepare for the upcoming series against Bangladesh isn’t the only challenge facing new Proteas coach Ottis Gibson.
The former West Indian fast bowler, who was officially unveiled by Cricket South Africa in Sandton on Tuesday morning, also has a crippling shortage of quicks to deal with.
Team doctor Mohammed Moosajee confirmed that none of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Chris Morris will be available for the first Test in Potchefstroom next week.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had a number of challenges on the fast bowling front,” Moosajee admitted.
“Vernon dived for a ball during the series against England and injured his lower back. His progress has been coming along well but he’s only bowling at about 80% intensity. The plan is for him to play a four-day game for the Cobras next week. Should be come through, he’ll be available after that.”
The all-round skills of Chris Morris will also be missing.
“He developed a injury to his lower back in the second Test against England. The rehab for that takes ten weeks, so he’s working closely with his franchise. He might be available for the ODI series.”
The promising Lungi Ngidi (stress fracture) will only be back in the middle of October while Dale Steyn’s realistic return is only in November because “we don’t want to set an artificial timeline for him”.
South Africa’s reliance on a group of fast bowlers over the age of 30 – with the exception of Kagiso Rabada – is becoming a problem, especially in terms of conditioning.
It’s something Gibson is already acutely aware of.
“As Doc Moosajee mentioned, we have four quality fast bowlers injured. That’s a problem straight away,” said the former England bowling mentor.
“You can’t really develop a team with that type of injury list. We have to take 20 wickets consistently to win Tests. We need a group of fast bowlers ready to perform.”
As a result, it might become a reality that some of the Proteas’ bowling stalwarts need to be wrapped in cotton wool.
“It’s important to realise than when there’s a trend – like all our fast bowlers getting injured at the same time – one has to look at underlying factors,” said Moosajee.
“We can talk about age but some of our best fast bowlers over 30 are still the best. We have to look at the volume of cricket being played and maybe we have to managed them more carefully. But the focus now is to get them rehabbed and ready. Once they’re playing again, we can concentrate on controlling the amount of cricket they play.”
