"You can't win anything with kids."
These were the famous words of former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen, commenting on Manchester United's relatively young squad at the start of the 1995/96 Premier League season. United have just come off a 3-1 hammering against Aston Villa. The "kids" Hansen were referring to, were the likes of Ryan Giggs (21), Paul Scholes (20) Phil Neville (18) and a certain David Beckam (20). United went on to win the league that season with the "kids" being instrumental in overturning a 12 point deficit against Newcastle to take the title. Beckham went to to become England captain and a football icon.
There were howls of derision in certain quarters again after the Proteas lost the recent T20 series against Sri Lanka by 2-1. This time the "kids" didn't turn up. Cricket South Africa's selectors deemed it fit to blood 6 new caps during the series and rested stalwarts like Faf du Plessis for the entire series and AB de Viliers for the first two matches. To be fair, Sri Lanka were having a nightmare tour and were there for the taking. But there was one "kid" who was not going to go quietly. Lungi Ngidi announced his arrival by taking 2/12 in the solitary win at Centurion and followed it up by taking 4/19 in a narrow loss at the Wanderers. Ngidi couldn't stop Sri Lanka from clinching the series in Cape Town as he picked up a injury during the match, but Mangaliso Mosehle showed he's no mug with the bat. In the end though, the Proteas only had themselves to blame for the defeat after wasting numerous opportunities.
The next day my inbox was flooded with comments from "fans" bemoaning "politics" and "quota selections" for the defeat. "This is exactly what happened at the World Cup when (Kyle) Abbott was overlooked and (Vernon) Philander was chosen," one fan reminded me. "Reverse racism is simply killing our game," another exclaimed. A certain "William" was at pains to explain to me on Facebook that "black players were simply not good enough at international level". "Losses like these to Sri Lanka will only increase the outflow of talented players like (Kyle) Abbott and (Rilee) Rossouw and while this happens you guys are obsessed with racial make up in sport," he lectured me. Ok then. Consider me properly schooled.
A year ago though, during a chastening test series loss to England at home, a certain Temba Bavuma defied all the critics by scoring a century at Newlands against England. In the same series, Kagiso Rabada destroyed the English at Centurion to record the second best test figures for South Africa (13/144). Rabada and the "quota selection" of the 2015 World Cup, Vernon Philander, were also to play massive roles in securing South Africa's third consecutive series win on Australian soil in November.
Despite reservations by an ignorant few, the future of South African cricket is a bright one. Ngidi has proven that emphatically.
Their performances prompted Australian commentator Ian Chappel to sheepishly admit that this was the "best bowling attack to visit Australian shores since the West Indies during the 80s." High praise indeed for an attack without the services of Morné Morkel and Dale Steyn, which also included a rookie spinner in Keshav Maharaj.
And despite the loss to Sri Lanka, Ngidi has shown that he has what it takes to become a star for years to come. The prospect of him and Rabada leading the Protea attack is an exciting one. Ngidi has also been included in the squad for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka where he will have another chance of wreaking havoc with the ball. (Let's not forget the brilliant Andile Phehlukwayo too, the leading Dolphins wicket taker in 2015-2016, and an involved Proteas wicket taker and runmaker in the rout of Australia last year. Oh, we can't forget him. - blogs editor)
Despite reservations by an ignorant few, the future of South African cricket is a bright one. Ngidi has proven that emphatically. While the number of players leaving the country to ply their trade overseas is a concern, it surely isn't the end of the world. The prospect of unearthing more black talent like Ngidi is a far more exciting prospect. While some bemoan the departure of the likes of Abbott and Rossouw, imagine the idea of finding even more Rabadas or Ngidis or Hashim Amlas? We should rather lament the fact that we haven't unearthed more already.
The good thing is that there are definitely more new kids on the block. They are young, talented and fearless. They are asking those that doubt them or want to leave, to think again. Don't run for the hills. Embrace transformation. Compete. The "kids" like Ngidi are here to stay. And they're not going away quietly.