The recent T20 match between South Africa and India played in the magnificent Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban heralded the final international appearance of a true cricketing trailblazer. On a ground that represents the success of South Africa’s development through its hosting of the football world cup, the farewell match for Makhaya Ntini reflected this progress by celebrating a player who stood for so much more than cricketing greatness.

Taking a look through Ntini’s career figures only tells half the story, but they are certainly impressive nonetheless. 390 wickets at 28 in tests and 266 at 24 in ODI’s represent the figures of a true champion. Throw in with that 22 five wicket hauls over both formats and four 10 wicket hauls in tests and you can see why he was the main stay of South Africa’s bowling line-up for over 100 tests.

Of course, Ntini’s career means so much more than just his outstanding figures. Entering the South African team in 1998, Ntini was the first and is certainly the most famous black South African cricketer. After overcoming a rape allegation in 1999, Ntini forced his way back into the team and stayed there for over a decade. Through this period, South Africa’s controversial policy of picking a minimum number of black players was discussed at length, but there was never a doubt that Ntini was in the team purely for his outstanding skill and consistent performances.

The final element of Ntini’s legacy has little to do with the colour of his skin or the skill with which he bowled. I think there’s probably two ways to really sum up this most important element of Ntini’s fantastic career; his wide smile and the celebration of his 100^th test. Makhaya’s 100^th test, fittingly played on home soil, was a celebration. A South African beer company sponsoring the team offered free beer to a jubilant crowd and the raucous patrons reciprocated by singing and dancing in honour of their great bowling hero.

This adulation has, of course, a lot to do with that winning smile. Ntini was a fierce opponent, who ran in and bowled tirelessly and always with aggression and verve. But, never far from his face was a fantastic smile. Makhaya was always willing to see the funny side, but this never got in the way of his competitiveness and his professionalism. This is what endeared him to fans and players alike, as was evidenced in the warm embraces Ntini received from the Indians walking off the pitch in Durban the other night.

In this era of endless matches in too many formats with a thousand forgettable faces, cricket is lucky that it can celebrate someone so dynamic. And celebrate we do, as we remember back and say one more time…All Hail Makhaya!

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above: World Series Cricket threatened international cricket just how T20 cricket appears to be threatening the future 50 over cricket

New World Cricket Watch columnist Allan Ridgewell investigates exactly why we are witnessing the slow but imminent death of 50 over cricket.

One day cricket, the form that revitalised the sport some 35 odd years ago appears to be slowly dying, well that’s what I am led to believe anyway. Unfortunately it seems the media was telling people this long and hard enough for them to start to believe it. Not only that but so did the administrators. The end of 50 over one day cricket in England was a start, followed up by the end of the tri-series held in Australia every summer. If it wasn’t dying before then that’s a damn good way to start killing it.

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Check out the highlights of the ODI series between Australia and the West Indies. World Cricket Watch will have highlights of all five games in the series.

5th ODI

It was interesting to read today that the local broadcaster of cricket in Australia, Channel 9, has suffered a 40% drop in viewers in their first week of ratings, primarily due to their coverage of the current ODI series. The report indicated that viewers were largely staying away from the series, though large numbers had tuned in to the recent T20 between Australia and Pakistan.

There could be many reasons for this, but the current hot topic in Australia is the apparent death of the ODI format. Crowd numbers have been very low to ODI’s this summer, and now the television ratings are also reflecting this trend. Last week, Shane Warne again called for the end of the ODI format, and reports also suggest that TV executives may want a say in what games are played.

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