Cape Cobras head coach Ashwell Prince heaped praise on young fast bowler Thando Ntini after he put in a fantastic effort with the ball in their opening One-Day Cup match against the Warriors in Oudtshoorn on Sunday.

Despite missing out on a maiden five-wicket haul on his white-ball debut for the Cobras, Ntini finished with impressive figures of 4-36 in 9.1 overs. He unfortunately wasn’t able to complete his 10th and final over and had to leave the field with cramp, but Prince is impressed with what he has seen so far and has no doubt that he has inherited his father Makhaya’s work ethic.

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‘It is really exciting for him to be able to make his debut, and having his father there on commentary,’ said Prince.

‘Apart from Pieter Malan’s 100 with the batting, in terms of the bowling front, he basically put in a man of the match performance and I’m really happy for him.

‘A lot of credit must go to him because he works hard and he has something that he definitely has taken from his father, which is his work ethic; he has a great work ethic.

‘He trains hard, he works on his batting, bowling, fielding and everything. He deserves the rewards that he is getting.’

Ntini will be hoping to continue his impressive start to the campaign when the Cape Cobras take on the Lions at Boland Park on Friday.

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