When you think of a cricketer who carriers cow dung as his lucky charm, you are probably gonna zero in on some Indian cricketer. Someone who may have possibly expressed his affiliation towards right-wing ideology. But no, it is not a Gauti or Jadeja, neither MSD who is celebrating his birthday, but former South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini who used to do this. Ntini also added that he used to kiss the cow dung when he needed extra luck. July 6th is Ntini’s birthday.
Makhaya Ntini was the first black African to have represented South Africa in International cricket. With a front-on, open-chested bowling action delivered from wide of the crease after drifting to his left at the very last second, Ntini never ceased to attack the batsman in front of him. Ntini wasn’t express-fast, the likes of Brett Lee or Shoaib Akhtar; neither did he have the accuracy of a Glenn McGrath. He was just devilish in his aggression and put everything he had into each and every delivery.
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Before Ntini retired in 2009, he had risen to number two in the ICC Test Rankings for Bowlers and had a hat-trick to his name in the Indian Premier League (IPL). When he retired after playing a Twenty20 International (T20I) against India in 2011, you could say a part of South Africa died. It may not be as apparent to the rest of the world, but Ntini is akin to a messiah for black South Africans.
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