Wisden overview
The first black African to play cricket for his country, Makhaya Ntini put the traumas of a rape conviction - subsequently overturned on appeal - behind him to emerge as an important member of the South African squad. Ntini has come a long way since his childhood in the village of Mdingi in the Eastern Cape and did not own cricket boots until selected for a regional schools side, when the coach took him to buy a pair. The boots were not entirely helpful, as they meant he had to leap sideways in his delivery stride at the concrete nets where he practised. He still has an exaggerated sidewards leap to this day, often interpreted as an attempt to avoid running on the pitch by those who don't know. Consistently faster than Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock throughout the 2000-01 season, Ntini is also physically the strongest member of the attack. The sideways leap pronounces his in-ducker to the right-hander but the skiddy, unexpected pace remains his greatest ally. Now married with a young son, Ntini is a crucial cog in South Africa's attempts to spread the game into communities that would not normally take a great interest in cricket. Neil Manthorp

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd