Ntini ready to do battle

Makhaya Ntini is one with a sense of humour.

Within the casual atmosphere of a welcome reception for the South Africa side on their first full tour to the Caribbean, the 23-year-old fast bowler, flashing a broad smile, was remarking that he had the secret to despatch the West Indies' most feared batsman.

When microphones and tape recorders emerged for a formal interview with reporters a few minutes later, he was singing a different tune. No, no, no, no! I don't have Brian Lara's number, he back-tracked. I was actually making a joke on it. It was not really a message. It was a joke.

The follow-up question came: So you don't know how to bowl that outswinger and take him away?

Of course I do, he responded.

On a serious note, however, Ntini is just no ordinary player in the touring party.

He is the only black person in the squad and was the first such individual to play international cricket for the once-racially divided republic.

The issue of white, coloured and black means nothing to him these days.

We are one family now, he proudly said.

It's an all rainbow nation. Everyone sticks together and we watch each other's back now, which is good.

He comes to the Caribbean with one disappointment. A few weeks before the start of the tour, another black cricketer, Mfuneko Ngam, was forced to pull out because of injury.

Barbadians should remember Ngam after the favourable impression he created when the South Africa A team was in the Caribbean last August and September.

I felt so good when he came on the scene, but all of a sudden he has broken down, Ntini said.

For my sake, I would have loved to have him on my side. It was a good thing for me. I would be honoured to see someone like me on the side.

Ntini's life story has its ups and downs.

Blessed with an action that is patterned after the late great Malcolm Marshall, he is a product of the United Cricket Board's development programme and found himself in the senior side for the 1997 tour of Australia before he had reached his 21st birthday.

Ntini made his Test debut on home soil the same year and also appeared in two Tests on the 1999 tour of England where he took four wickets in a losing cause at Headingley.

But, his career came to a standstill and a possible end after he was convicted of rape in 1999. All along he maintained his innocence and was eventually acquitted on appeal.

It was an ordeal that may have forced others to quit the sport and keep out of the public's eye. That he was back in the game almost immediately said something about his character.

Ntini regained his Test place during South Africa's trip to Sri Lanka last summer, but it was back home for successive series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka that he created a big impression.

In six successive Tests, he collected 23 scalps at 19.21 runs apiece and in the process enjoyed his finest moment in Test cricket when he bagged six for 66 in the first Test against New Zealand at Bloemfontein where he shared the Man-Of-The-Match award.

He comes to the Caribbean seeking to establish himself as the permanent No. 3 in the South Africa fast bowling attack spearheaded by old warrior Allan Donald and captain Shaun Pollock.

No matter what it is, I am ready for it, he said about possible challenges as he looks ahead to adding to his 33 Test wickets (ave. 25.67) which were taken in 11 matches.

Off course I have got goals. I have to make sure that this tour goes wonderful for me. But it's not just for me. Everyone is here as a team.

He is modest enough to appreciate that it will be no easy task to become a world-beater.

You have to work hard to be on top of the world, but I am still saying it is the beginning for me, said Ntini, who plays his domestic cricket for Border alongside Barbadian Vasbert Drakes.

Everything is there for a reason. We have to work hard and see what will come my way.

This is not Ntini's first visit to the Caribbean. He was here in 1997 to play in the University of the West Indies Vice-Chancellor's match at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.

This time, however, he is hoping for a more memorable visit.

What is certain is that anyone who chats with him will remember him for a long time to come.