Proteas bowlers are capable, even without Nortje, says Simons

Though his absence from the squad leaves a gaping hole that needs to be filled up front, Proteas bowling coach Eric Simons says they won’t be expecting any single player to take over the role played by paceman Anrich Nortje at the Cricket World Cup.

Nortje was initially included in the national squad for the tournament but he was later replaced by Lizaad Williams after being forced to withdraw due to a back injury.

READ MORE: Double blow for Proteas: Nortje and Magala ruled out of World Cup

The quickest bowler in the SA team, he will be missed, but Simons said yesterday they had enough speed and experience in their bowling line-up to manage without the intimidating speedster.

As the most experienced member of the attack, Simons admitted a lot would be required from Kagiso Rabada, but he felt the 28-year-old seamer would be well backed by the rest of their specialist bowlers and all-rounders.

“I think he (Rabada) is one of our key members,” Simons said.

“I don’t always understand when people talk about the leader of an attack, but he is somebody with a lot of experience who the opposition respect. So getting him up to speed and bowling his best is not only important for him but for us as a unit.”

Coetzee brings pace

Without Nortje’s raw pace, a lot of expectation was also set to be placed on 22-year-old fast bowler Gerald Coetzee.

And while he was the youngest member of the squad, Simons was confident Coetzee had the maturity to deliver under pressure on the World Cup stage.

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“Somebody who can constantly bowl over 140km/h is important in any conditions,” Simons said.

“He’s a very intelligent cricketer, even as a young guy.  He understands his game and he contributes a lot in bowling meetings about batters and the opposition.

“So I do think it’s going to be a steep learning curve for him, but he is someone with the material and resources to handle it.

“He’s exciting because he’s got the pace and he is growing as an intelligent bowler as well, which is important.”

The Proteas will open their World Cup campaign, in search of their maiden global title, when they face Sri Lanka in their first match of the round-robin stage of the tournament in Delhi tomorrow.