The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
The majority of Zimbabwe cricket team players do not appreciate their roles in the team, reckons Chevrons bowling consultant Makhaya Ntini.
After “months of taking a back seat and studying local cricket culture” the former South African star has declared himself ready to make his mark on the local scene.
Ntini, who featured in 101 Tests, 173 ODIs and 10 T20 Internationals for South Africa, intends to rebuild the Chevrons bowling department.
“I have spent the first few months of my stint in the background trying to understand the culture of Zimbabwe cricket.
“What I have found has not been all that pleasing; the guys don’t really know their places and roles in the team and it is a culture I believe I was brought here to try and improve,” said the Mdingi Express, so named because of the small village he was born in.
Ntini is ready to travel to all four corners of Zimbabwe in search of the next “big thing”.
“What you need to understand is that cricketers, and more specifically bowlers, are like an uncut diamond. In their raw form all you have is potential and it is that uncut stone or potential that I intend to find,” he said.
“Once identified, it needs to be nurtured before we can talk about the final product. I will be looking at the Under- 19, Under-23, senior players and even those that have been overlooked or are unappreciated.
“What I am looking for is both talent and potential, but more of the latter as it is he who works harder. I have seen gradual improvement with the guys have I have been working with, but I do not believe we have reached the apex of what Zimbabwe has to offer.”
