Latest News – Sanjay's Cricket World

Makhaya Ntini has been rumoured to have signed a contract with Middlesex for the 2010 season.

The veteran fast bowler was dropped for the third test against England at Newlands, and sources have revealed he has already signed a pre-contract with Middlesex as a Kolpak player.

Ntini looks set to retire from all forms of International cricket immediately after the Newlands test. However he is still contracted to South African cricket until the end of April.

After 101 test matches and 390 test match wickets, Ntini recently expressed his desire to move past Shaun Pollock’s South African record of 421. It showed his desire to continue playing for South Africa, but loss of form and being dropped may signal he is no longer in favour with the South African selectors and his time may have run  out.

Ntini can be a potential match winner, he is the only South African to have taken 10 wickets in an innings on 4 occasions, and the only South African to have managed it against England (1 of only 10 in the history of the game). However in  recent times, he has struggled to take more than 2-3 wickets.

Whilst I agree he doesn’t deserve to make the starting lineup, in my view neither does Morne Morkel. Ntini was probably persisted with past his use by date, he is after all an iconic figure in South Africa, and the milestone of 100 tests probably played a big role. However the South African selectors now need to be braver.

There has been criticism that Friedel de Wet is too similar to Dale Steyn and the 2 can’t play together. It didn’t stop the West Indies playing 4 pacemen in the 80′s. If you can bowl a good line and length attacking the top of off stump, it doesn’t matter what type of bowler you are, the wickets will come. I disagree that Steyn and de Wet shouldn’t play together, what we need are bowlers who bowl tight, apply pressure and the rewards will follow.

I’d drop Morne Morkel and bring in Wayne Parnell and/or Lonwabo Tsotsobe who attack the stumps and are likely to capture more wickets than a Morkel or Ntini who allow the batsmen to leave far too many deliveries. This would allow Dale Steyn to operate with far less pressure and recapture the form that made him the world’s best fast bowler in 2008.

If this is the end of Makhaya, I wish him all the best. He has been a legend in South Africa and no doubt he will be home before too long to continue the work of his academy and help the future generation of South African fast bowlers.

Jacque Kallis ended the decade (2009-2009) with the highest batting average in test match cricket.

His average was 58.70, and was followed by Australian Captain Ricky Ponting with 58.38 and Pakistani Captain Mohammad Yousuf with 58.53.

In terms of total number of runs, Kallis (8630 with 27 centuries and 42 fifties) was second to Ponting (9458 with 27 centuries and 42 fifties).

Kallis is such a consistent performer and considering he rarely makes big hundreds (he has yet to score a double century in test match cricket), his average is testament to how consistently he scores.

If there is one criticism I do have of the most elegant batsmen to watch, it is that he does not ‘win” enough games for his side. Like Sachin Tendulkar who has a wonderful record, when the chips are down, and runs are needed under pressure, your best batsmen should see you home. Perhaps that is where Ponting has the edge over Kallis.

With the Proteas needing some massive momentum shifts ahead of the third test against England, the opportunity is there for Kallis to mark his mark in the next decade as a matchwinner rather than simply a record maker.

In the test bowling stakes Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka led the way with 565 wickets, and South Africa’s Makhaya Ntini was second with 380. With both bowlers nearing the ends of their careers, the new decade is going to see some new record makers.

My pick would be Dale Steyn to lead the way. He is a wonderful bowler with a great record so early in his career. If he remains fit, the records could be his for the taking, Pakistan’s Mohammed Aamer at 17 could be another to watch for, but the Pakistanis have a habit of being inconsistent in the selections which may hamper him.