Ntini retires from internationals

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – South Africa fast bowler  Makhaya Ntini has formally retired from international cricket, the 33-year-old said in a statement yesterday.

The paceman, who played the last of his 101 tests in  December 2009 but has been out of favour with the national  selectors ever since, will make one final appearance in a  Twenty20 international against India in Durban on Jan. 9.

“It has been a wonderful journey for me to represent my  country,” Ntini said in a statement. “I have so many great  memories, which I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Ntini made his South Africa debut in a one-day international  in 1998 and retires having taken 390 test wickets, with best  figures of 7-37, and 266 wickets in 173 ODIs.

Nicknamed the ‘Mdingi Express” after the village of his  birth in the Eastern Cape, Ntini will continue to play domestic  cricket.

“My career is by no means over; it just means that  internationally my time has come to hang up my boots. Domestic  cricket is thriving at the moment, and I want to be a part of  the set up, as a player, for as long as possible,” he said.

In 2003 Ntini became the first South African to take 10  wickets in a test match at Lord’s, an achievement fondly  remembered by Ali Bacher, the former head of the South African  cricket board who has been part of Ntini’s cricket career almost  from the beginning.

“After that match he took the time out to phone people in  South Africa that had helped him during his career, to thank  them for their support during his career,” Bacher told Reuters.
“It is testament to Makhaya that, at the pinnacle of his  career, he was thinking of other people.”
Bacher said that the fact that Ntini had managed to overcome  an impoverished background spoke volumes about the man.

“Makhaya comes from a very poor, rural background and to come out of that environment, where he grew up without basic  facilities like hot water, and to become an international  cricketer, is an extraordinary achievement.

“Makhaya was blessed with natural ability but he also had  tremendous dedication, passion, commitment and a hunger for the  game.

“The three big sports in South Africa are rugby, cricket and  soccer and over the last two decades in rugby and cricket  Makhaya is the only black African to regularly play in the  national side which is a hugely significant  achievement.”