By Scott Heinrich

14 years old, Ntini approached Booi bare-footed for a bowl in the nets

Meet the man who discovered star paceman Makhaya Ntini, the first black African cricketer to play for South Africa.

Raymond Booi, current coach of South Africa's women team, has witnessed many budding young cricketers come through his coaching clinics over the past 12 years.

He knows quality when he sees it, and it did not take him long to identify the promise in Ntini when he met the raw youngster in 1992.

"I am employed by the Border cricket club to coach in the rural areas and the townships around East London and the Border region," Booi told the BBC Sport Website.

"It was in 1992 during the June school holidays and I was holding a clinic in a local village when along came a bare-footed 14-year-old boy wanting to have a bowl.

Monde Zondeki is another player to have come through my clinics Raymond Booi

"He came running in and sent a few balls down and he had such natural talent I knew straight away.

"I approached him and asked him his name and he told me 'Makhaya Ntini'.

"I said to him, 'Makhaya, one day you will play Test cricket for South Africa'.

"He just laughed at me."

Booi's judgement proved spot on and less than six years later Ntini made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Cape Town.

In the ensuing years, Ntini has notched up 33 Test appearances and taken 114 wickets at an average of 28.16.

The highlight of his career came in the second Test at Lord's this summer when he took two five-wicket hauls in a Man-of-the-Match winning performance.

Booi, meanwhile, continues to conduct his coaching clinics in conjunction with his role as an assistant coach at the club.

"Monde Zondeki is another player to have come through my clinics while there are others who are now in the national academy or playing county cricket in England.