Ngidi praises bowling coach Langeveldt, says Proteas are in right direction

South African pacer Lungi Ngidi feels that he can still do a lot better than what he has done since making a return to the international arena.

South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi, Ever since his Test and ODI debut against India in 2018, has proven himself to be a match-winner by picking wickets when his team needs that desperately. But to return from the sidelines and bowl your side to victories in international cricket is never easy and the pacer felt a lot of credit for his performances in recent times goes to bowling coach Charl Langeveldt.
 
"He is very supportive, he encourages me to play the way I think, so as a bowler I feel really comfortable with executing my plans," Ngidi said in a Cricket South Africa audio.
 
"I never feel as though he will not agree with what I am saying. He has been there before, he has been in situations where you have the ball and you have to deviate from the game-plan. He has got a lot of knowledge, and was a very skilful bowler. It has helped my cricket a lot."
 
"He understands me and he's been there before. He's been in situations where you have the ball and you have to deviate from the game plan. He's got a lot of knowledge and he himself was a very skillful bowler. He's helped me a lot," he added.
 
But Ngidi feels that he can still do a lot better than what he has done since making a return to the international arena.

 
"I would rate it (the season) at about a six (out of 10). It was good, but to me it was still not good enough. There were a few games I could have gone for less runs. I did pick up a few wickets, but it is not the finished product. I still feel I can deliver a whole lot more and be a whole lot better," he pointed.
 
It has been a challenging home summer for South Africa cricket team as it lost the Test series 3-1 to England against the 50-over world champions drew the ODI leg of the tour 1-1, and won the three-match T20I series 2-1.
 
The team also suffered a 2-1 defeat in the T20 series against Australia but bounced back to beat the same opponents 3-0 in the ODIs.
 
Langeveldt joined Proteas' side in December last year. Prior to this, he was working with the Bangladesh cricket team under Russell Domingo.
 
South Africa moving in right direction: Lungi Ngidi
 
South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi also said the team is moving in the right direction despite admitting that there is still a lot of work to be done.
 
"The team did very well in the end, there were a lot of steps in the right direction. Obviously, there's still a lot of work to be done but it was very good to see those wins... I just think you can see the other teams have had these teams for a very long time and we've got probably another four or five new guys that have come into the team now," Ngidi said in a statement.
 
"For us it's obviously a different phase but it's moving in the right direction. It was good to see the wins that were happening but there's still a bit of work to do," he added.
 
Ngidi had missed South Africa's four-match Test series against England in December and January after sustaining a hamstring injury during the Mzansi Super League (MSL).
 
"I'd say the road back to cricket wasn't as bad as people think. I'm not shy to work hard, so it wasn't an unfamiliar area for me and to be honest, I didn't feel as though I was down and out," he said.
 
"Like I've always said, every person has a different formula and I was still trying to figure mine out and going to (fitness) camp with the CoE (Cricket South Africa Centre of Excellence in January) helped me do that. I figured out that I've probably got to work a lot harder than than other people. It doesn't come as naturally. So it just helped me and put me down the right path," Ngidi added.