Proteas bowling coach Charl Langeveldt on Tuesday said that Cricket South Africa (CSA) can be really proud of some of the players that have progressed through the ranks over the past season.
He also said that the onset of the new cricketers in the national side is a testament to the domestic cricket structure in the country. The likes of Anrich Nortje and Janneman Malan enjoyed breakthrough performances in the last year.
Langeveldt was the bowling coach of Bangladesh when he was offered the role in his native country and the former Proteas pacer did not look back before grabbing the opportunity of coaching the young talent in South Africa.
The Proteas went on to lose the Test series against England, but to cap off the summer, South Africa white-washed Australia in the three-match ODI series.
"It's been an interesting time coming back from Bangladesh. It's always nice to coach your country. I think when it came to making the deal back then, Jacques Faul (Chief Executive Officer) and Graeme Smith were brilliant behind the scenes making it possible for the transfer to come through to South Africa. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) were also excellent and they were brilliant in releasing me," Langeveldt said in a video conference.
"It was never going to be easy. We (the new coaching staff) started with the Test series against England in December and we didn't have enough time as a team to gel. England being England and having a settled team with guys who have played a lot more Test cricket together than us, we had a lot of youngsters coming into the team and into the set-up, that was really hard," he added.
The bowling coach said that South Africa played well in patches but was not able to get their act together to win matches on the trot. "The guys played well in patches but as a unit, we just couldn't get it together. We got better in the limited-overs tours. Lungi Ngidi was excellent, Temba (Bavuma) and Quinny (Quinton de Kock) were also good. Against Australia Lungi again with the ball was fantastic and then Janneman was outstanding. Overall we were a lot better," Langeveldt said.
Despite opting to rest senior players in the white-ball contests, South Africa still managed to pull their weight and compete, something that former Proteas quick Langeveldt relished.
"I really enjoyed how we competed as a young bowling attack at an international level. Anrich, Lungi, (Lutho) Sipamla, (Tabraiz) Shamsi, they all stepped up very well. All-round everyone chipped in. Where we came from starting in December and where we ended up, I think Cricket South Africa can be really proud of what they did on a domestic level to get these players through. That's where these players come from and they showed a lot of maturity which is a big plus for us going forward," Langeveldt said.
South Africa was next slated to play against Sri Lanka in three ODIs and three T20Is, but the tour was postponed on Monday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
( With inputs from ANI )
