Proteas bracing for clash against ‘world-class’ Afghanistan, says Ngidi

With Afghanistan having proved they can compete consistently against the best in the world, the under-strength Proteas will need to be at their best this week, seam bowler Lungi Ngidi has warned.

The SA team face Afghanistan in three one-day internationals starting at a neutral venue in Sharhaj on Wednesday (2pm SA time). They will be without half their first-choice squad who are being rested, as players are given opportunities with head coach Rob Walter looking ahead to the 2027 World Cup on home soil.

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With a new-look unit, Ngidi said the Proteas were preparing for battle against the former minnows, who beat England and Pakistan at last year’s 50-over World Cup and defeated Australia and New Zealand at the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

“We’ve seen what they can do against other international teams, so I don’t think anyone is taking this series lightly,” Ngidi said.

“They’ve got world-class cricketers and match winners, and on their day they can beat the best in the world. We’ve seen it happen, so I don’t think anyone should be looking at them as minnows. We definitely know what we’re in for.”

Aggressive batters

Facing powerful top-order batters and a strong bowling attack, Ngidi believed the key for the Proteas would be to strangle their opponents’ batting line-up.

“They seem to be very aggressive up front. That’s probably their biggest foundation, and then they’ll have the other players chip in within the middle and lower orders,” Ngidi said.

“I think we’ve also seen that their lower order can score some crucial runs, and I think the biggest thing for us is going to be to control the top end of their batting line-up.

“We also know that their bowling is probably one of their strengths… so we need to make the game as hard as possible for them.”