Will Anrich Nortje ever get to play an ICC 50-over tournament?
Today, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced that Nortje will not be able to participate in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. The 31-year-old fast bowler is suffering from a back injury.
Previously, injuries kept him out of the 2019 and 2023 World Cups as well. This means that, including this time, he has been ruled out of three consecutive ICC 50-over tournaments before they even started.
Nortje made his international cricket debut in March 2019 in an ODI against Sri Lanka. Over the past six years, the right-arm pacer has only managed to play 22 ODIs. Right before the 2019 World Cup, he suffered a finger injury, and a back injury sidelined him during the 2023 World Cup.
Although he returned to cricket in May 2024 and played in the T20 World Cup the following month, he was injured again after that tournament in the USA and West Indies, causing him to miss last month’s series against Pakistan.
On Monday, during the Champions Trophy squad announcement, South Africa’s coach and one of the selectors, Rob Walter, expressed confidence that Nortje would be ready to play.
He had mentioned that they had to choose between Gerald Coetzee and Nortje, and they opted to trust Nortje. However, within three days, CSA issued a statement saying that Nortje underwent scans on Monday evening, and the results confirmed that he would not be able to play in the Champions Trophy.
It has not yet been announced who will replace Nortje in the 15-member Champions Trophy squad, but Coetzee is the most likely candidate. Over his six-year career, Nortje has been part of six ICC tournaments—three 50-over tournaments and three T20 World Cups.
