Anrich Nortje Pronunciation | Stats and Overview

Anrich Nortje is one of the best emerging fast bowlers in World Cricket. However, there has been a lot of confusion regarding Anrich Nortje’s pronunciation. People accent his name as ‘Nokia’ at present and that’s what is correct according to him.

There were many speculations over his name accent; ‘Norkhiya’, ‘Nortje’, or ‘Nokia’; which would be the perfect one. But at present ‘Nokia’ is the correct accent of his name. He is one of the fastest bowlers ever without question. Rabada-Nortje pair is the biggest strength of South African cricket at present. South Africa has always produced world-class fast bowlers. Following the Steyn-Morkel era, the Rabada-Nortje era looks to be quite dominant worldwide.

In this article, I would term Nortje as Nokia to prioritize the pronunciation that the article is about.

Anrich Nortje Career Overview

Anrich Nokia is a professional cricketer from South Africa. He comes from the town of Uitenhage, North of Port Elizabeth. Since his debut, he has caught the eye of the world with his extreme pace and skill with the ball in hand. He regularly ticks the 150 km mark and is a nightmare to face when in form.

Full Name: Anrich Arno Nortje

Born: November 16, 1993

Age: 28yrs

Role: Bowler

Bowling: Right-arm fast

Batting: Right-handed

Nokia made a name in the inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League, the Franchise T20 competition in South Africa in late 2018. He took 8 wickets in 3 matches for the Cape Town Blitz. His express pace impressed the selectors and he got a chance to debut in the national colors against Sri Lanka in an ODI match in early 2019. With an impressive performance in the series, he made a strong case for inclusion in the South African World Cup 2019 squad. He also received a contract in the Indian Premier League from the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019. But a shoulder injury appeared as a huge blow to him as he was ruled out of the IPL as well as the World Cup 2019.

Finally, after all the setbacks, he was allowed to tour India in 2019 where he made his Test and T20I debuts. Since then his career graph has only been rising. Currently, he is one of the best fast bowlers in the world.

Anrich Nortje T20I Career

Nokia made his T20 international debut against India at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in 2019. Since then he has picked up 38 wickets in 31 matches at an average of 19.53. He has an excellent economy rate of 7.15 which is remarkable in T20 cricket, especially for a bowler who bowls tough overs for his team. In T20 World Cup 2021, he was one of the tournament’s best performers with 9 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 11.56. He certainly outperformed his fellow teammate and modern master Kagiso Rabada. Nokia was the better of the two in both pace and skill. His T20I career stats are listed below:

Anrich Nortje ODI Career

Nokia made his One Day International debut against Sri Lanka at The Wanderers Stadium in 2019. In ODIs, he has 36 wickets from 22 matches at an average of 27.28 and a strike rate of 28. In his young career, he has 4/51 as his best figure. He hasn’t had a 5W haul in ODIs as yet but surely has a bunch in his bag. With the 20 overs World Cup approaching, South Africa would place bets on Nortje to perform big in the tournament and lead South Africa to a memorable campaign. His ODI career stats are listed below:

Anrich Nortje Test Career

Nokia made his Test debut against India at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in 2019. In the 19 Tests that he played, he has 70 wickets in his bag. He averages around 27 which is quite decent in Test cricket. He has 4 5W hauls to show his caliber with best match figures of 8/120. With the quality he possesses, the stats are bound to improve drastically with time. After the retirement of Steyn, Morkel, and Philander, all eyes would be on Rabada and Nortje to continue the legacy of domination by the South African pace attack. His Test career stats are listed below:

Anrich Nortje IPL Career

Nokia made his IPL debut against Punjab Kings at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in 2020. In 2019, the Kolkata Knight Riders picked him, but a shoulder injury knocked him out of the tournament. In the following season, he featured for the Delhi Capitals and has been their go-to bowler along with Rabada in the IPL 2020-21 season. He has played 5 seasons (44 matches) and has taken 59 wickets at a strike rate of 17.25. However, the season of IPL 2024 hasn’t gone positively for him. Out of the 4 appearances in IPL 2024 he conceded whooping 215 runs with an economy of 13.44, just 6 six wickets on his name. He played  His IPL career stats are listed below: