by Trevor Chesterfield
Makhaya Ntini, the South African fast bowler, announced his retirement from international cricket. In the spirit of nostalgia, Trevor Chesterfield takes us back in time to 2003.
In the past it has been Brian Lara who has indulged in such strange habits as the ceremonial kissing of the pitch. Now South African Makhaya Ntini has, for a special reason, joined the West Indian batsman in a show of such personal emotion. His display of affection came at Lord's on Sunday when the packed venue saluted his first ten wickets in a Test career and on his debut at England's headquarters.
Not satisfied with a first innings haul of five wickets, Ntini put together what has been described as an 'in your face' performance and collected a second five wickets. It not only meant that his name has gone on the honours board twice in the pavilion dressing room; he is the first South African bowler to get it on a second time: something to tell the grandchildren some day. Eager to make it a family affair, he dedicated his man of the match award to his father and mother. It was the type of gesture which is likely to be as well remembered as is the victory - this one by an innings and ninety-three runs by South Africa over England saw the tourists take a psychological 1-0 lead in the five match npower series.
No one seemed too bothered that Ntini had earned the award ahead of his captain, Graeme Smith; there were those who felt that Smith should have been handed his second consecutive man of the match award. Smith had collected his first award at Edgbaston in the drawn first Test. This time winning the man of the match award was based three factors: that having won the toss he gambled by sending England in to bat and destroying their confidence; next came Smith's crushing big double century and third that he played a major role in South Africa's record Test score.
Commonsense prevailed in this case and Ntini was given a just reward. To win a Test is a matter of taking twenty wickets and this is where Ntini, with ten next to his name, played the role demanded of a bowler of his calibre. Anything less than man of the match award for the former herd boy from Mdingi would have been a churlish act. It also, should his form continue, place him in line for a man of the series award.
Lord's, Sunday, August 2, was however a special day for Ntini as he stepped up to collect his reward for not only taking ten wickets for the first time in his Test career, but it came at a time South Africa was in need of a black role model. There was magic in doing it at Lord's. His second innings return of five for 145 in 31 overs came with the wicket of journeyman seamer Steve Harmison, giving him a rare double. Many who were there, were recalling Australian Bob Massie's effort in 1972 when collected sixteen.
No one is going to suggest, however, that this Lord's victory was all about Ninth’s bowling. Smith's second double century apart, there was the century by Gary Kirsten and Boeta Dippenaar's innings where he was dropped more than once to reach the nineties. What is of interest is that South Africa have now completed a remarkable hattrick of victories at Lord's since they emerged from isolation in 1994.
They had been deservedly shut out for 21 years when the racist policies instituted by the white minority Afrikaner government led to the country's exclusion. Apartheid decreed that someone such as Ntini would remain a herd boy; dreams of a Test and ten wickets at Lord's would have been denied him. It has been an impressive defining moment.
Before their return from isolation, South Africa had won only one Test at Lord's between the first game in 1907 and the last in 1965 - this was in 1935. Smith is the third captain in as many tours to step up to the victory dais and acknowledge the role his side played in beating England at such an august venue. It is always something special and for Ntini it was an equally remarkable performance.
'I don't think too many people quite understand what this small achievement has done for the game in South Africa,' said Omar Henry, the selection panel convener. 'Taking ten wickets is always special, but to do it here is something rather unique. It displays the fighting spirit which the team has developed on this tour.'
Ntini's performance at Lord's is unique: he is only the eighth South African to take ten wickets in a match in the series involving England, but he was also the first to do it at Lord's. Little wonder he kissed the pitch and waved to the crowded Tavern Stand as was given a rousing standing ovation. He acknowledged them when he stood up and waved back. His ten wickets at a cost of 220 runs in the match equals the total number of wickets he has taken against England in his three previous Tests. Little wonder the young man from Mdingi displayed the sort of exuberance when he ripped through the middle-order in what was the last over before lunch. There was a healthy passion about his performance.
Up to that stage, England had been gathering runs and working towards a session where they could, for a change, claim success. Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain had taken the total to 186 before Andrew Hall picked up Butcher's wicket for seventy. Hussain and Anthony McGrath then batted with caution against a varied attack before Smith decided a change of bowling tactics. He give the ball to Ntini six minutes before lunch - the sort of bold, yet streetwise tactical move which paid immediate dividends.
First Hussain tried a pull shot which he top-edged to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher; two balls later Alec Stewart in what is likely to be his last Test, was brilliantly picked up in the slips by Hall. The middle-order had been blown apart during an explosive over; much of it was caused by Ntini's ability to slant the ball across the batsmen's body at pace to induce false strokes. Little wonder the Stewart wicket saw Ntini charge down the pitch to be embraced by his exuberant teammates. The recent fractured history of the rainbow nation took on a new, brighter hue and when Shaun Pollock collected Anthony McGrath's wicket three balls after lunch it was a matter of how long the game was going to last.
What happened after this was how “Freddie the Eagle”, Andy Flintoff, emerged as a batsman of some class. He flung the bat around to reach a deserving century and a top score of 142 out of a final total of 417. There were twenty runs off an over from Pollock: a six and three fours as Flintoff's defiantly did what he could to score a second Test century and help prevent England going down to their heaviest defeat. It was a nifty innings: one of rare character too, as he hurtled towards the three-figure mark with flamboyance rather than cultured flair. It was all biff, wallop and crash bang and how the crowd enjoyed it.
Yet when it came to saluting heroes, the Lord's crowd gave Ntini the standing ovation he deserved: the team's Othello doing his best for his country, his team and his parents at home. His emotion was such that the kissing of the pitch was a premeditated gesture. After all, he had long dreamed of playing at Lord's and collecting his first Test career ten wickets is rare enough.
(Excerpt from Trevor Chesterfield's article on www.thewicket.com)
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