Makhaya Ntini

Makhaya Ntini's story started in Mdingi, a small village in Cape Province where he bowled bare-foot, and ended with more than a hundred Tests for South Africa. Ntini was first spotted by a Boland Cricket Board development officer, who was instantly impressed with the cowherd's enthusiasm and pace. Ntini was immediately sent to the Queenstown junior cricket festival, where he got his first pair of boots. Soon, he found himself in the South Africa Under 19 team and grew steadily to make his first class debut in 1995. Within three years, Ntini already made history in South African cricket by becoming the first black player to represent the nation, when he made his ODI debut against New Zealand in 1998. A Test call up came soon, as he was picked for the home series against Sri Lanka.

However, Ntini suffered an early setback in his career. His career seemed poised for an early end when he was charged and convicted of rape in 1999. Ntini maintained his innocence and was finally acquitted of all charges. He returned to the South African team in 2000 and never looked back. In 2003, he became the first South African to take 10 wickets at the prestigious Lord's ground. However, his best performance came in a Test against West Indies in Port of Spain, where he took a match haul of 13 wickets, which remains the most number of wickets taken by a South African in a Test match.

Ntini's bowling was characterized by his wide of the crease angle and never ending energy. He would often bowl marathon spells whenever his side needed them. In ODI cricket, he would often be expensive but had the ability to be deadly on his day, as the Australians found out in 2006 when Ntini destroyed them with a 6 for 22 performance, which is the best by a South African in ODIs.

Ntini established himself as one of South Africa's and the world's premier fast bowlers in the years to come. He became only the third South African behind Shaun Pollock and and Allan Donald to pick up 300 Test wickets and also rose up to 2nd in the ICC Test rankings. His 100th Test, against England in 2009, was celebrated across his country but it turned out to be his penultimate match. He was dropped for the rest of the series against England and never returned. He announced his retirement from international cricket after playing a T20 match against India in 2011.

Ntini played county cricket for Kent and Warwickshire, and represented the Chennai Super Kings for the first three seasons of the IPL.

By Karthik Lakshmanan