The seamer, who started his World Cup campaign brightly with three wickets in the Proteas’ opening-game defeat against England, has missed his side’s last three games after suffering a hamstring injury against Bangladesh.

However, the bowler insists he is now over the injury, telling reporters on the eve of the New Zealand game, “It’s 100%. That’s how the fitness test goes. If you are not bowling at 100% then you are obviously not ready to play. Today was as hard as I could go, at match intensity.”

[caption id=”attachment_110183″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Ngidi celebrates the scalp of Jos Buttler, one of three wickets he picked up against England[/caption]

With South Africa on the verge of exiting the tournament and still reeling from the loss of the spearhead of their attack in Dale Steyn, Ngidi admitted it has been frustrating to watch from the sidelines.

He said, “It’s been tough. Injuries are never nice but with the support staff I’ve had around me, it’s been pretty decent. Other than being off the field, I’ve been alright. Just frustrated by not being able to play a few games.”

Ngidi’s return may have come too late for his side who face an uphill battle to make the semi-finals after recording just three points from five games. Despite facing an unbeaten New Zealand side in their do-or-die clash, Ngidi believes there’s reason for optimism in the South Africa camp.

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“I don’t think their middle and lower order have been tested enough,” he said. “They have got their runs at the top of the order, so if we can get one or two (wickets) maybe we can test them. I think then you could be looking at a different situation with their batting.”