Cricket: Speed king Ntini has edge in war of nerves

CAPE TOWN - Finding a strategy to counter in-form South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini is shaping as a key challenge for New Zealand as they eye the second test at Newlands, starting tomorrow.

Ntini, South Africa's first black African test representative, will head into the match with back-to-back 10-wicket hauls and with what now must be a distinct psychological edge over the New Zealand batting line-up.

Once a teenage cattle-herder in the East Cape township of Mdingi, the 28-year-old right-armer has come a long way since he used to stand in cow dung on winter mornings to keep his feet warm, and join his six siblings to eat dinner out of one bowl.

Even when he was an acknowledged threat a few years ago, he was still a pace bowler with clear limitations, being unable to bowl around the wicket because of the angle of his delivery stride and - up to a year ago - unable to provide a variation for his stock inswinger.

But such has been Ntini's progress in the past 12 months that he's now ranked as the second-best bowler in test cricket, coming in on the ICC player ratings table behind only Muttiah Muralitharan.

Experienced New Zealand middle order batsmen Nathan Astle and Scott Styris both regard the indefatigable paceman as the major challenge in terms of the test at Newlands.

"Since we played him in New Zealand a couple of years ago, he's learned to take the ball away from the right-hander a fraction, which makes him a far bigger threat, and that is why he's getting a lot more wickets," Styris said yesterday. "Previously he just used to angle it in at you, which made it pretty easy to move to off stump and negate his line.

"But he's a smarter bowler now. He varies his width on the crease, he comes in a lot closer to the stumps on occasion, and he's got a ball that trails away from the right-hander, so he's certainly a better bowler than he was."

Styris, one of a clutch of New Zealand batsmen who suffered dual failures at Centurion, believes the extra variation in Ntini's repertoire has changed him from being very good into a potential great.

The Border paceman has now taken 259 test wickets at an average of 28.15, a South African tally exceeded only by teammate Shaun Pollock (391) and just-retired Allan Donald (330).

But Styris said the New Zealand batsmen were still confident in their ability to defy the host's bowling attack, and rejected any suggestions that they were simply being outgunned by a superior strike force.

"The batting group was pretty disappointed with their effort in the last game - 45 for five and 25 for five speaks for itself, really.

"But we realise that we have to stay true to what we've been practising over the past six to 12 months, and also that one bad test match doesn't suddenly make us bad players."

Astle echoed the sentiments of his teammate, saying the New Zealand batsmen had probably played at Ntini too freely at Centurion and had paid the price - something they were determined to avoid this time around.

"We've all played him enough and understand his angle. I think that on the wicket at Centurion we tried to play him more than we should have.

"He's bowling very well but as a batter you've got to be precise about your lines and the angle in which he bowls at."

Astle was one of a group of players who had x-rays or scans after the first test, but said the results on his right knee had not rung alarm bells.

"It's all right, it's just a bit niggly ... I think it's good enough to play on."