Nortje blocks out noise and shows off his best form for Proteas in New York

While there was plenty said and written about Anrich Nortjé in the build-up to the T20 World Cup, most of which was not encouraging, the big fast bowler claimed he heard none of it.

Instead he accentuated the positives despite a seemingly difficult few months after a lower back injury. 

The 30-year-old quick took 4/7 in the Proteas’ crucial opening victory against Sri Lanka at Modular Stadium on New York on Monday, putting to bed concerns about his form. 

“The important thing is keeping the 20 people who work with you and encourage you very close to you and the other 10-million who abuse you, to keep them out of your circle,” said Nortje.

After suffering a lower back injury at the start of last season, which saw him miss the entirety of the season, Nortje seemingly struggled to rekindle the form that made him South Africa’s best bowler at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

His statistics after his comeback didn’t suggest a bowler who had much form or confidence, but Eric Simons, Proteas bowling coach, and one of those 20 Nortje has in his inner circle, explained at the weekend how dangerous it was to read too much into the numbers.

In the Indian Premier League Nortje took only seven wickets in the six matches he played, with his economy rate of 13.36 indicating a lack of control. He then failed to pick up a wicket in the six overs he bowled against West Indies in Jamaica, while conceding 73 runs. 

“I don't think I was on the money as I would have liked to be today, but obviously I got the results and the wickets,” Nortje said.

“It's about the process and about trying to keep on going and trying to get better.

“I know it's been a tough month or two but I think the training and prep has been really good. The thinking, specially in the last month, has been really good from myself and those 20 around me.”

On a pitch where even Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanuka, bowling 124km/h, was getting the ball to dart off the surface and lift over the stumps, Nortje and the rest of the Proteas fast bowlers — all taller and quicker — were always going to be a handful. 

“I think it was quite clear from the start when [Marco] Jansen bowled one or two fuller deliveries and once he bowled one a bit shorter, we knew there's maybe a bit more bounce in the wicket. That's something for us as a unit to exploit.”

Sri Lanka were dismissed for 77, with a few of their batters falling to the hook shot, while others couldn’t keep the ball down as they tried to locate the square boundaries on a big outfield at the temporary facility in Long Island. 

Nortje's control was best displayed in a beautiful set-up to dismiss Angelo Mathews in which he followed a 119km/h slower ball with a 146km/h bouncer the veteran Sri Lankan top-edged to fine leg.

Both teams were allowed very short training sessions at the venue on Sunday, with Nortje explaining his batting teammates quickly realised they didn’t want to face the quicks, given the steepling bounce on the practice pitches. 

There are four strips that will be used for the eight matches that will be played at the venue. They are part of 10 pitches prepared in Adelaide, Australia and shipped to New York for the tournament.

“It was a little bit up and down as well in the nets,” Nortje said.

The players are likely to be given a few days off to explore the sights and sounds of the Big Apple, before starting preparations for their match on Saturday against the Netherlands.