Had Makhaya Ntini strode the civilised streets of Florence and Venice a century or five ago, Michelangelo might have chosen to chisel flared nostrils and closely curled hair into the rough chunk of granite that would become his statue of David.
To see Ntini shirtless is to behold a man for whom the physical is one with the spiritual. He is a snugly wrapped package of muscle, bone and heart. There is, of course, a mind in there somewhere. And a lively, keen mind at that. But it will always be subservient to the demands and whims of the body.
That might sound crass to us of a more mortal persuasion. It won’t if we answer honestly when we ask ourselves whether we wouldn’t feel similar were we able to live our lives in a body as fine-tuned as Ntini’s.
That body turned 31-years-old three weeks ago. Even though it is in showroom condition, that’s an age when fast bowlers typically indicate their intention to veer into a slower lane and enjoy the finer things.
Life can be tough for those who have been blessed with the ability to splinter a batsman’s larynx with something as unassuming as a ball.
But spilling blood is often the least dangerous of the pace bowler’s weapons. Far more harmful is his penchant for whipping away a poor soul’s confidence as flippantly as if he was trashing a spent serviette.
All that hurting adds up. It takes a while, but eventually having to lug a growing pile of emotional baggage from plush airport lounges to luxury hotels, comfortable stadium dressing-rooms and back to those airport lounges — in some of the most far-flung and exotic countries — takes its toll.
That said, there is hope for the burdened psyches of cricket’s flame-throwing fraternity. It’s called getting old. Speed owes its loyalty only to the next generation and as the years start to mount, the pace starts showing a leg to those bright young things rather more readily than it does to the old kids on the block.
Of course, when their powers begin to fade, fast bowlers are allowed to stop faking their status as hungry proto-humans who lurch around the planet sniffing the air for the scent of delicious young children.
In what can sometimes seem to be less time than it takes to shave off the first grey hairs in a previously boldly black beard, their zip is zapped. Suddenly they are just blokes again. Big, hairy blokes, mostly, with egos to match. But basic blokes nonetheless.
There is every reason to believe that the terrifying truth that he will not live forever has recently hit Ntini with all the naked slam of a miners’ cage crashing to the bottom of a shaft deep in the Earth.
Worse, perhaps, is the realisation that he will not be able to worry batsmen out for much longer. Ntini has never been the fastest bowler around, but he has almost always been the most relentless.
Batsmen count on even the quickest, most aggressive bowlers eventually tiring. They had no right to do that with Ntini — he hunted their throats and their wickets with a cold determination that had to be seen to be believed.
The determination is there still, but it means nothing without a body that can stay in the game. Until recently Ntini didn’t have to ask his body to come along for that ride.
As has been plain for all to see on South Africa’s tour to England, Ntini has been loath to put the question to himself. Or maybe he has and the answer has been, at best, a definite maybe. Why, some will ask, does he not do what those before him have done and resort to tricks such as slower balls? There’s nothing like a reputation to keep the stars shining.
Bowl a slower ball? Makhaya Ntini? That’s like asking Shane Warne to throw away a woman’s phone number.
To Ntini, variation means launching a delivery from a little wider on the bowling crease than the ball before.
He bowled a slow ball once, in the nets, and spent the next few minutes on his back, yelling his head off in celebration.
As for reputation, Ntini wears his heart on his sleeve. He is a proud man and he won’t like the picture of mediocrity he has presented to the world, on and off, since he was injured — for the first time in his career — during Australia’s tour to South Africa in 2005/06.
Then he was dropped during the 2007 World Cup and the alarm bells grew louder. Now they are reaching a crescendo. Makhaya Ntini has been an important part of South African cricket since he made his international debut in 1998.
They’ve been 10 wonderful years.
Come in number 11 — your time looks as though it’s almost up.