Ngidi ruled out of Australia ODIs, Mokoena named replacement

Lungi Ngidi has been dropped from South Africa's squad for the three-match One-Day International series against Australia, causing yet another injury.

Ngidi suffered a right hamstring injury in the domestic first-class season-opening game between Titans and Dolphins last week and scans on Wednesday confirmed he would need a period of rehabilitation. Ngidi is the third seamer after Kagiso Rabada and Ottneil Baartman to be ruled out of the series.

Last week, Ngidi bowled eight overs in Dolphins' first innings and 8.3 in the second, fewer than fellow frontline quicks Marco Jansen and Beyers Swanepoel, who bowled 26 and 20.3 overs respectively.

Ngidi was also off the field for periods of time but returned and was present at the end of the match. Baartman, who was playing for the Dolphins at the time, had also injured his hamstring and was no longer able to bat.

Ngidi has been replaced in the ODI squad by 20-year-old quick Nqobani Mokoena, who earned his first ODI cap during South Africa's tour of Namibia.

Mokoena was playing for Dolphins in the first-class competition against Western Province and bowled 19 overs on day one, with returns of 1 for 78. He has since been withdrawn from that match to join the South Africa squad in preparation for the ODIs, with Bayanda Majola replacing him in that game. The pace attack in the ODIs will be led by Jansen, whose twin Duan is also in the squad, with Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee and Kwena Maphaka the other fast-bowling options.

More concerningly for South Africa, a call on Ngidi's availability for the three-Test series against Australia, which starts on October 9, will only be taken closer to the start of that contest. They are also worried about whether Rabada will be available because he injured his hamstring during winter training and has not played cricket since the May IPL.