'Enjoyed how we competed as a young attack' – South Africa bowling coach Charl Langeveldt
The 2019-20 home season was a tough one for the South African men's team as they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to England in Tests, and lost T20I series to England and Australia.
The period was poised to be an especially challenging one after the South African management underwent a widespread overhaul just before the start of the season, with Graeme Smith taking over as Director of Cricket. Among other changes to the coaching setup, Smith appointed Langeveldt as the bowling coach.
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Despite the unfavourable results on the whole, Langeveldt was pleased to note how younger bowlers coming into the national team performed.
"I really enjoyed how we competed as a young bowling attack at an international level," he said. "Anrich, Lungi, (Lutho) Sipamla, (Tabraiz) Shamsi, they all stepped up very well.
While the early part of the season was especially tough for a South African team in transition, both in terms of playing personnel and a newly installed coaching and directorial setup, things started falling in place as the season progressed. They finished with a 3-0 ODI win against a full-strength Australian outfit.
South Africa speedster Lungi Ngidi is satisfied with the way his team has shaped up but admits there is room for improvement.
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"It was never going to 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.
"The guys played well in patches but as a unit we just couldn't get it together. We got better in the limited-overs series. 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 (Malan) was outstanding. Overall we were a lot better."
"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."