Nantie Hayward

Nantie Hayward started out as a tearaway, red-headed fast bowler with attitude and a haphazard run-up. Since then he's undergone a blond rinse and sorted out his run-up, but the attitude remains. He still wants to bowl fast and sees no point whatsoever in making friends with batsmen. In the long term, Hayward is clearly seen as the successor to Allan Donald as the spearhead of the South African attack. He has genuine pace, the ability to get bounce and abundant energy. When all these are properly harnessed, he can be a fearsome opponent. He toured England with South Africa in 1998, but it was a largely unhappy trip for the fast bowler. He never quite came to terms with English wickets and lost his rhythm and run-up midway through the tour. Question marks surfaced over his willingness to heed advice and for a while it seemed possible that his undoubted potential might go unrealised. However, he started taking wickets left, right and centre and forced his way into the team for the second Test against England. It was an auspicious debut. He took 4 for 75 in conditions, which suited the batsmen and impressed with his willingness to keep running in under a hot sun. However, after 14 Tests, the last of which was against Pakistan in January 2003, it was revealed that he had signed a deal with Worcestershire which precluded him from being released for international matches. At the time, he said he agreed to the contract because he had not been consistently selected in the national squad, and had therefore given up hope of future selection. But after a rethink, he declared himself available again in June 2004, and was immediately picked for the tour of Sri Lanka later that year. He only managed four wickets in two Tests during that tour and faded out of national reckoning. In April 2007 Hayward signed on as one of Ireland's overseas players for the Friends Provident Trophy, and also played for the Kolkata Tigers in the Indian Cricket League at the end of the year. He, however, returned to the South African fold after opting for CSA's amnesty offer
Peter Robinson December 2007