South Africa National Cricket Team have suffered a fresh injury blow as the 24-year-old right-arm pacer Gerald Coetzee has picked up a groin niggle.
The groin niggle puts Gerald Coetzee in serious doubt for the second Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka National Cricket Team, which will begin on December 5.
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Gerald Coetzee’s injury is the second injury blow for South Africa
Gerald Coetzee was part of the South Africa National Cricket Team in the first Test against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team at Kingsmead in Durban.
In the first innings, he bowled 3 overs, picking up 2 wickets by giving away 18 runs, and in the second innings, he delivered 13 overs, in which he conceded 67 runs and bagged 2 wickets.
On Day 4 of the Test, the right-arm pacer Gerald Coetzee bowled in the morning session, beginning proceedings with Kagiso Rabada, but stopped after a 3-over spell.
His second spell of the morning was of just two overs, and after that, he bowled three overs post lunch. Notably, the South Africa coach Shukri Conrad revealed that Coetzee had informed him at lunch about feeling a groin niggle. The pacer is set to undergo scans tomorrow to determine the full extent of the injury.
Gerald Coetzee, the medical team will have do to their best – Temba Bavuma
The Proteas team would be hoping that Coetzee recovers quickly as they have already lost the services of all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.
He had fractured his right middle finger on Day 2 of the Durban Test and was ruled out of the series. Speaking after registering a dominant win by 233 runs in the first Test, Temba Bavuma talked about the injury issues in the team. He stated:
“Wiaan is out of the series, [and] we have to find a replacement. [For] Gerald Coetzee, the medical team will have do to their best.”
With the win over Sri Lanka, the Proteas jumped to the second spot on the ICC World Test Championship standings and Temba Bavuma said that making it to the final is their main goal. He stated:
“That probably is one of our goal as a team (reaching the WTC final), I said to the guys coming into the series that we need to be focussed internally on what we can do let the things outside take care of themselves. Looking forward to it (second Test) and hopefully the weather behaves.”
Temba is at his best when backs are against the wall – Shukri Conrad
Speaking during the press conference Shukri Conrad lauded Temba Bavuma for his sensational performance with the bat in Durban. Notably, the Proteas skipper led from the front and blasted 70 and 113 runs. Conrad elaborated:
“Temba is at his best when backs are against the wall and he needs to stand up. He was exceptional in this match. That 70 went a long way to giving us something respectable to bowl at. I quietly whispered to him yesterday evening that I thought this was his best hundred.”