South Africa could be without Gerald Coetzee for the limited-overs leg of the upcoming trip to Pakistan after the fast bowler pulled up with a pectoral strain in Wednesday’s one-off T20I against Namibia in Windhoek.
The 23-year-old managed only 13 deliveries – four of them wayward wides – before signalling for attention. He walked straight off, looking more annoyed than distressed, and did not return. Cricket South Africa (CSA) later confirmed he would play no further part in the game and would be assessed once the squad gets back to Johannesburg. At this stage there is no official timeline for recovery, though pectoral strains often need a fortnight or more.
It is another frustrating interruption for a player who has seen as much of the treatment room as the dressing room over the past year. A groin problem ruled him out of the Champions Trophy, then delayed his return to Test cricket. He finally made it back on the winter tour of Zimbabwe in July, turned out for South Africa A, and was pencilled in for both the T20I and ODI squads to Pakistan. That pencilling may soon need an eraser.
The camp already has one quick on the casualty list. Kwena Maphaka’s hamstring twinge, picked up in domestic first-class cricket last weekend, removed him from the Namibia fixture and from the Pakistan tour altogether. The left-armer will stay at home to rehabilitate.
Depth, at least, is not South Africa’s biggest issue. Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder head to Pakistan for the two Tests, which start on Sunday. Nandre Burger and Lizaad Williams have both returned from lengthy lay-offs – lower-back stress and knee surgery respectively – and Lungi Ngidi is earmarked for the white-ball matches only, with selectors expecting spin-friendly Test wickets on the sub-continent.
Coach Shukri Conrad kept things measured afterwards. “Injuries are part of the game,” he said. “We’ll give Gerald every chance, but we won’t rush him. The bigger picture is a long season ahead.”
Captain Aiden Markram was equally pragmatic. “You feel for Gerald because he’s worked really hard to get back. Whoever pulls on the green cap in Pakistan will know their job.”
South Africa name their final squads next week; Coetzee’s next appointment may well be with the MRI scanner rather than on a Pakistan runway.
