The fast and the curious

The Big Read: Many a sports commentator has used the age-old adage: "Form is temporary, but class is permanent", when referring to champions like women's tennis star Serena Williams, seven-time Formula1 champ Michael Schumacher and golfer Tiger Woods.

But has Makhaya Ntini merely lost form or has his star, which has shone so brightly for the past 12 years in the international arena, finally dimmed? He doesn't see it that way, anyway. Even though his former team-mates have won two Test matches (against England and India) since he was dropped in January, Ntini believes he can still come back to the side.

For so long Ntini spearheaded the national team's bowling attack, and was normally the go-to guy when the going got tough. He tirelessly ran in for all three of the captains he's played under: Hansie Cronje, Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith.

But that's no longer the case. Young guns Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel have recently formed a formidable pair, making it even harder to predict whether Ntini might ever make his way back into the national selector's reckoning. Steyn, who ruthlessly exposed the Indians' batting fragilities in the first Test match, is the world's number one bowler and Morkel is rapidly climbing the international rankings.

Nevertheless, Ntini is still hopeful.

That was the overriding impression he gave during our interview.

"You're late, my brother," he says, and then proceeds to request more coffee - which he takes black with six teaspoons of sugar. It suddenly makes a lot of sense how, at 32 years of age, he still buzzes around like an 18-year-old.

We start off by talking about how he's been able to spend the unexpected time off from Test cricket at home with his wife Thandeka and their kids, son Thando and daughter Khanya.

He was in Australia in January 2009 when his wife and kids were involved in a car accident, with Thandeka sustaining injuries to her neck and shoulders. Ntini flew home the following day.

"It's made such a huge difference being home; I've finally been able to learn a lot more about my children, about what they like and dislike.

"Being with them has made me realise how much I've missed out on while on the road touring. As a parent you want to see your kids doing their homework, you want to help with extramural activities, so lately we've been able to go cycling and swimming together - something that I'd normally have been too tired to join them in," he says.

Sports stars belong to the public, even retired ones, and Ntini's star still shines. On Monday, a tribute gala dinner was held in his honour. The dinner, at Emperors Palace, was organised to celebrate Ntini's milestone of having played 100 Test matches for South Africa. Hundreds of guests, including team-mates, coaches, administrators, sponsors and avid fans, turned up to pay tribute to one of South Africa's most entertaining sports characters.

Before being dropped from the team, Ntini's pace had been on the wane for quite some time. He was never known for his ball-swinging abilities, so although he continued to take wickets, he had become less of a threat to batsmen than when he tore through the England batting order to become the first South African bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test match at Lord's, the home of cricket, in 2003.

But Ntini's wickets tally in all forms of the game began to fall about two years ago.

In 12 tests in 2003, Ntini took 59 wickets - an average of five wickets per match. In 2006, he took 58 wickets in 10 tests - an average of almost six wickets per match. In 15 Tests in 2008 he took 54 wickets at an average of just under four wickets per match. Last year he played in six tests and took 13 wickets at about two wickets per match.

Twenty-six-year-old Dale Steyn took 74 wickets in 13 Test matches in 2008 - an average of just under six wickets per match. He played in five Tests last year, and took 22 wickets at an average just over four wickets per match. He's already taken 23 wickets in only three Tests since the turn of 2010.

These figures alone suggest the guard in the national team has changed and Ntini has very little chance of a return.

"The worst time for a fast bowler like me is when you're not taking wickets, because it's what you've been chosen to do - take lots of wickets. When that happens, people look at you and demand answers, then you start to doubt yourself and your own abilities, despite not having changed your commitment at training."

Ntini's commitment to the cause has never been in doubt, though, says his former team-mate Paul Adams.

"Makhaya is a player with a lot of energy," says Adam, "And he's a guy you can call upon during hard times. He's also someone who will offer a shoulder during the bad times.

"He's a real team man and inspires the players around him, and he also inspires lots of South Africans. He's gone through a lot both on and off the field, but has fought and come out tops."

But should he take the hint and hang up his boots, or should he try and force his way back, even if it means he will no longer be that go-to guy?

"It's really up to him if he can make it back into the team. There are probably a few guys who've moved above him in the pecking order. He just needs to keep putting in big performances for the Warriors to get the attention of the selectors again," Adams says.

Ntini points to the likes of Herschelle Gibbs and Charl Langeveldt, who have battled their way back into the team after being dropped.

On the eve of the first Test against England in Centurion on December 16, both the local and English media speculated on Ntini's retirement plans. The Times of London said he was due to retire from the game at the end of the series. Issues of transformation suddenly popped up again, despite Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola saying that only cricketing considerations would determine selection, and not race.

However, names to replace Ntini and restore the quota of four non-white players were already being thrown around; youngsters like Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Thandi Tshabalala, Wayne Parnell and Monde Zondeki.

He says he's putting in the hard yards with his domestic side, the Chevrolet Warriors, and has plans to help the national side finally claim the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in 2011.

There were even suggestions that Ntini would accept a Kolpak contract (a declaration that allows citizens of certain countries which have signed agreements with the European Union, to have the same rights to freedom of work and movement within the EU as EU citizens) with English county side Middlesex.

He lets out a guffaw at the suggestion. Perhaps he knew it was coming.

"I had always planned to go to Middlesex for about three months, just for a little while, and then return home again. I've done that before with Warwickshire. But because I was dropped from the national side, it was blown out of proportion. I will never turn my back on my country, and besides," he says, "I'm not done yet!"