Johannesburg - Aaron Phangiso is a “very strong character” who would be able to get through the cloud hanging over him about his bowling action.
Those were the words of encouragement from Proteas bowling coach Charl Langeveldt on Monday after the South African team arrived in Cape Town from Johannesburg for Wednesday’s T20 decider against Australia at Newlands (6pm start).
Phangiso – who has played in 16 ODIs and nine T20Is, sat out the first two matches of the series after he was reported by the match officials for a suspected illegal bowling action while playing for the Highveld Lions in a One-Day Cup match against the Warriors nearly two weeks ago.
He was allowed to play in the final against the Cape Cobras at Newlands eight days ago, and took 3/33 in an impressive nine-over spell of left-arm spin as the Lions bowled out the Cobras for just 169 and romped to an easy eight-wicket victory.
Then tests done at an approved centre at the University of Pretoria confirmed the officials’ suspicion as Phangiso’s arm bent more than the allowed 15 degrees while bowling a number of different deliveries.
He underwent remedial work with Proteas spin-bowling coach Claude Henderson and Cricket South Africa’s high performance manager Vinnie Barnes since then in order to be retested in Pretoria on Monday, with the results due on Wednesday, so he is unlikely to play at Newlands either.
But the 32-year-old is in the Proteas squad for ICC World T20 in India later this month, and could play a crucial role if South Africa opt to pick another spinner alongside Imran Tahir in the starting XI on what are expected to be slow, turning tracks.
“He went for the tests today, and the results will be out on Wednesday. Vincent Barnes and Claude Henderson have been working with him, and they said it looked a lot better on the eye… But it is so different when you see all these sensors and all these tests being done, different angles. It’s hard to say,” Langeveldt said at the team hotel in central Cape Town on Monday.
“I think Phangi is one of those guys who would be able to adapt, and I think it wouldn’t affect him in that sense (mentally) when he does play the game. Sometimes things like that would be at the back of your head, but it’s hard to say whether it will affect him. He is the only guy who can say that.
“He is in good spirits, he has been around the squad and is positive every day. He wanted to do well for the team and he has been bowling well. And he is a strong character – there’s a lot that has happened in his life, and he’s come back from all those situations. So it shows that he is a very strong character.”
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