Every human leg contains three hamstrings situated at the back of the upper thigh, muscles that allow the knees to bend, thighs and hips to move backward, and strides to slow down under control. While everyday walking and running rely heavily on these tissues, pushing them to the extreme demands of fast bowling operates on a knife-edge. All of us who have legs also have hamstrings. Without hamstrings we cannot walk or run.
Hashendra Ramjee, the chief medical officer for Cricket South Africa and the men’s national team doctor, highlighted that high-speed running acts as a vaccine against hamstring issues. Although he credited that viewpoint to strength and conditioning specialists, he acknowledged the physical reality that any form of running can simultaneously trigger such strains. Ramjee doesn’t claim ownership of that striking statement.
That tightrope walk became apparent when five leading South African fast bowlers—Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Kwena Maphaka, Ottneil Baartman, and Lutho Sipamla—sustained hamstring injuries over a recent period. All except Sipamla had been named in the squad for the home ODI series against Australia. And we know all about it when they hurt. And will doubtless be back on the tightrope, all five have been caught by the safety net of treatment and rehabilitation.
While single injuries are commonplace, an influx of five similar issues raises serious questions. Ramjee explained that multiple factors contribute rather than a single root cause, noting that Rabada was injured during preseason conditioning, Ngidi and Baartman broke down in domestic first-class fixtures, and Maphaka experienced trouble after heavy winter training. “The bottom line is there’s probably no single cause that we can look at. But there is good cause to think that when there’s transition it can create a vulnerable point.”.
Shuaib Manjra, the former medical head, previously noted that hamstring problems typically cluster at the start of seasons during workload increases and at the end due to muscular fatigue. Ramjee concurred, pointing out that transition phases between rest periods and high-speed workloads inherently carry elevated risk even when carefully planned.
Beyond transitions, previous injuries elevate baseline risks, while the overall biomechanics of fast bowling place immense mechanical strain on the human body. Ramjee described fast bowlers as unique machines that absorb massive ground forces during the delivery stride, followed by intense deceleration and braking forces through the lower limbs and spine.
Modern medical teams track these physical demands using GPS monitors that measure acute and chronic workloads, allowing staff to intervene when metrics enter danger zones. Ramjee praised coaches like Shukri Conrad and Piet Botha for supporting these data-driven injury prevention strategies.
Managing modern cricket schedules now requires viewing a calendar year as a single continuous unit rather than isolated series. This includes tracking total ball counts and proactively resting players, a proactive approach modeled by Australia.
Australia has managed its pace attack conservatively by resting key players during tours. Captain Pat Cummins, 33, missed two of three ODIs in South Africa to stay fresh for Tests starting October 9, while 36-year-old Mitchell Starc skipped the preceding Zimbabwe ODIs and 35-year-old Josh Hazlewood featured in only one of those matches.
Ramjee emphasized that South Africa can learn from Australia’s medical management model, provided the scientific staff secures full buy-in from coaches and the players themselves.
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