Makhaya Ntini      

A product of the United Cricket Board's development programme, Makhaya Ntini was discovered as a young cattleherd in the Eastern Cape, given a pair of boots and packed off to Dale College, one of the country's best regarded cricketing nurseries. With an action consciously modelled on that of Malcolm Marshall, Ntini found himself touring Australia at the end of 1997 when Roger Telemachus failed a fitness test. He made his South African one-day debut at Perth in early 1998, bowling well in helpful conditions and his Test debut came against Sri Lanka in the same year. In 1999, however, Ntini was charged and initially convicted of rape. He steadfastly maintained his innocence and was subsequently acquitted on appeal. It was, ...

A product of the United Cricket Board's development programme, Makhaya Ntini was discovered as a young cattleherd in the Eastern Cape, given a pair of boots and packed off to Dale College, one of the country's best regarded cricketing nurseries. With an action consciously modelled on that of Malcolm Marshall, Ntini found himself touring Australia at the end of 1997 when Roger Telemachus failed a fitness test. He made his South African one-day debut at Perth in early 1998, bowling well in helpful conditions and his Test debut came against Sri Lanka in the same year. In 1999, however, Ntini was charged and initially convicted of rape. He steadfastly maintained his innocence and was subsequently acquitted on appeal. It was, though, a harrowing ordeal for the first black African cricketer to play for South Africa and it is to his credit that he has been able to rebuild his career. He was not chosen for South Africa again until the Sharjah tournament in 2000 where he both surprised and impressed observers with greater control than had been evident previously. He carried his Sharjah form over to the three one-dayers against Australia in April this year, again bowling impressively.

Quite obviously, Ntini has bounced back from his troubles. Although he was always a little short of the genuine pace of a Brett Lee or a Shoaib Akhtar, he improved steadily and became the first South African to take ten wickets at Lord's in 2003 before devestating the West Indies in Trinidad in 2005 with 13 for 132, the best-ever match figures by a South African bowler. He finished the series against Australia at the end of 2005 with nine wickets at 29.33, including a menacing 5 for 64 in the first innings at Perth. In the return series at home, Ntini proved a constant threat both as a wicket-taker and potential bruiser. Probing lines and a never-say-die attitude reaped him 19 wickets at 22.36 - with 6 for 100 and 4 for 78 at Johannesburg being a stand-out showing - and gave Justin Langer a warm welcome, in his 100th Test, with a first-ball clanger to the head that left him concussed.

Ntini backed up this fine series with 20 wickets in three Tests against New Zealand, and was rightfully Man-of-the-Series. He finished the 2005-06 season with 48 Test victims. In June, he was awarded a benefit by Border for his ten years of service to the game. He managed just five wickets in a two-Test series in Sri Lanka in July-August but was an automatic choice for South Africa's 14-man squad for the Champions Trophy in India. Ntini took eight wickets in the tournament, including a fiery spell against Pakistan at Mohali. When India toured South Africa at the end of 2006, Ntini topped the wickets tally in the Tests with 15, and just after that, when it was Pakistan's turn to visit for three Tests, he passed 300 wickets in a 19-wicket series. Ntini was unable to carry his hot streak into the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, where he managed just six wickets from seven games. He was dropped for South Africa's last two games, an indication of just how poorly he was performing, and was comprehensively outbowled by Dale Steyn in South Africa's series against West Indies, scraping 10 wickets at an unhealthy 38.50. But he improved his average with another 10 wickets against India, and came back from a difficult start to play a vital role in South Africa's subsequent series win in England.

After a decade at the top, Ntini played his 100th Test at Centurion during the series against England in December 2009. He took only two wickets in the game, however, and his retention for the Durban Test at Friedel de Wet's expense was criticised. Ntini went wicketless in the midst of South Africa's innings defeat at Kingsmead and was axed for the third Test, while there were reports linking him to Middlesex, a move that would effectively end his national prospects. His omission from the squad for the fourth Test all but confirmed his international retirement.
Peter Robinson January 2010