Ntini rules against the Windies

Makhaya Ntini¹s matchwinning performance in the second Test at Port of Spain earned him the best-ever match figures by a South African bowler in Test cricket

Bhavika Jhaveri31-Aug-2005Makhaya Ntini’s matchwinning performance in the second Test at Port-of-Spain earned him the best match figures by a South African bowler in Test cricket. Nitni, who carried the South African bowling in the absence of Shaun Pollock, took 13 for 132 in the match, including a stunning 7 for 37 in the second innings, surpassing a 52-year-old record established by Hugh Tayfield at Melbourne in 1952-53. Tayfield’s matchwinning 13 for 165 in the second Test helped South Africa square the five-Test series, which eventually finished 2-2. The table below shows the top five match figures by South African bowlers in Tests:

Bowler	Match analysis	Match	Year
Makhaya Ntini	13 for 132	SA v WI, Port-of-Spain	2004-05
Hugh Tayfield	13 for 165	SA v Aust, Melbourne	1952-53
Hugh Tayfield	13 for 192	SA v Eng, Johannesburg	1956-57
Tip Snooke	12 for 127	SA v Eng, Johannesburg	1905-06
Allan Donald	12 for 139	SA v India, Port Elizabeth	1992-93

Ntini’s figures are also the best-ever recorded at the Queen’s Park Oval in
Trinidad, bettering Tony Greig’s 13 for 156 for England in 1973-74.

Bowler	Match analysis	Match	Year
Makhaya Ntini	13 for 132	SA v WI	2004-05
Tony Greig	13 for 156	Eng v WI	1973-74
Curtly Ambrose	11 for 84	WI v Eng	1993-94
Malcolm Marshall	11 for 89	WI v India	1988-89
Angus Fraser	11 for 110	Eng v WI	1997-98

Ntini seems to have a particular fondness for West Indian batsmen. Five out of his nine five-wicket hauls have been against them. He has claimed 49 West Indian wickets in 10 Tests – second only to England, against whom he has taken 54 in 12 Tests – and 31 of these have been top-order wickets. Chris Gayle, who he dismissed twice in the previous Test, has now fallen to him six time, as has Daren Ganga.Statistics also show that Ntini has always risen to the challenge when
Pollock, his usual opening partner, has been sidelined due to injury. In
the 49 Tests he has played alongside Pollock, Ntini has snapped up 179 wickets
at 29.55 at a strike rate of 56.96 balls per wicket. But in eight matches without Pollock, Ntini has 38 wickets at 25 at a better strike rate of 47.05.