Ngam: Possesses the pace to trouble the best

Throughout that period, the cricket establishment has dreamed of a day when the South African bowling attack features four tearaway black fast bowlers in the West Indian mould, with the kind of pace that makes wicket-keepers wince, to scare the living daylights out of any opposition.

It has not quite happened that way - and there are many reasons why.

A good starting point is Ngam's own background. He grew up in the rural Eastern Cape hamlet of Middeldrift and his secondary school on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth did not even have a cricket pitch. It still doesn't.

Ntini's background is remarkably similar.

The United Cricket Board, in part because the township talent could not be ignored, and also as a result of the need to be seen to be promoting the game amongst South Africa's previously disadvantaged communities, has an extensive development programme in place.

Concrete cricket pitches have been laid in every conceivable location, coaches are seconded to spend time in the townships and each province employs dedicated 'development officers' charged with spreading the cricketing gospel.

Many black South Africans still prefer football

There is also a cricket academy in Johannesburg, of which Ngam is a graduate, to polish the more promising players.

But cricket, like rugby, is still a white man's game. Ngam and Ntini spring from one of the few parts of the country where the sport is enjoyed equally across all races.

Elsewhere, young black sportsmen are far more likely to want to be footballers, boxers, or athletes.

It has often been an excuse for doing nothing, but it is a reality nonetheless.

Perhaps, too, the lack of true role models in the early post-isolation years has stymied the emergence of a greater seam of talent.

Ntini already knows the burden of responsibility, and it falls on Ngam.

England's Devon Malcolm: Coaching in the townships (1995)

His skittish attempts to deal with the media on the eve of the Test, and the nerves which prevented him making more than a couple of clean stops in succession as the team went through fielding drills, underline just how tough a task he has been set.

The Wanderers stadium is not his natural home and he will take time to relax and feel as though he belongs.

Ngam is tall, handsome, athletic and articulate.

South African cricket has had a difficult year and the emergence of a new star - a new black star at that - would signal a significant and widely welcomed step into the next generation.

The four-prong black pace attack will probably never happen, but two out of four is a good start.