From cricket prodigy of Mdinge in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape to chief wicket-taker at Lord’s, Mecca of world cricket. Makhaya Ntini has now kissed the hallowed English turf, giving thanks for his remarkable achievement of being the first South African to take 10 wickets in the second Test match against England.
This feat is not only a victory for Ntini and his village community, but also for the United Cricket Board (UCB) development programme, which spans over 10 years; and especially the Border Cricket Programme, pioneered and managed by Greg Hayes and Raymond Booi.
As Border captain in 1994 alongside coaches Steve Jones, Ken Watson and teammate Piet Botha, I remember being invited to assist in a coaching session of Dale College’s under-15 cricketers in King William’s Town.
There were 20 eager, young hopefuls all strutting their stuff that hot afternoon — but only one had on a pair of boots.
He also came off a long run-up, ran very fast and was very noticeable as he churned up the dust in his approach to bowl the ball to the quivering batsman only 20m away.
We, as coaches, were nervous about the insufficiently protected batsman. Injury was a distinct possiblity.
Because the bowling crease (unlike the one at Lord’s) was a cement block catering only for laaities in their takkies, this young warrior (with his impressive, spiked boots) had to actually jump to the left in his delivery stride to miss the edge of the block and have a softer landing in the gravel. Hence Ntini’s present action and point of delivery — albeit somewhat more refined.
You could sense he was proud of his boots and we were not about to prevent him from bowling simply because he wasn’t wearing takkies. He bowled all afternoon and that evening, we coaches were satisfied with our day’s work. We had spotted raw talent in the middle of nowhere.
Two years later, the young lad from Mdinge played a first-class game for Border against England in East London.
As his then-captain, I had the pleasure of catching his first victim, Alec Stewart, the same batsman he was to haunt at Lord’s eight years later. I recall Ali Bacher’s words to me then: ‘Can this chap play for South Africa?”
Xhosa culture, pride and natural athleticism were the right ingredients for the product Ntini has now become. But let us not forget the huge input by his Border cricket and UCB mentors, who groomed and nurtured the young champion.
In the words of one of Border’s favourite sons, the late former minister of sport Steve Tshwete (‘Mr Fixit”): ‘Aahh Makhaya, you have ignited the country!” Indeed, Tshwete would have said that of all captain Graeme Smith and his tribe as they ran rampant at Lord’s.
A wonderful man, I still remember an emotional Tshwete implanting a firm kiss on my sweaty forehead after a memorable victory against Australia during the 1992 Word Cup, uttering similar niceties.
The superlatives describing Smith’s record-breaking batting exploits and his inspirational leadership are well deserved. He has silenced his critics in emphatic fashion.
The Honours Board in the Lord’s dressing room now boasts a South African legacy as the engraver adds Smith, Ntini and Gary Kirsten to its illustrious list.
Smith and his men were absolutely brilliant, following the same trend at Lord’s of the 1994 and 1998 tours. England were woeful last weekend, but beware — they would have been woken from their slumber! I can’t wait for the third Test at Nottingham.