Wisden overview
Angry Young Man has been used to describe many a blossoming fast bowler but Hayward was the cause of more grey hairs than most. From fiercely Afrikaans stock, Nantie initially refused to speak English, and then did so reluctantly. The man responsible for his emergence as a matchwinning international was Kepler Wessels, Hayward's first captain at Eastern Province. His family loved baseball and that is the sport he grew up with. Making the transformation to an English sport posed more social problems than technical ones, fortunately, and there has never been a question mark over the position of the arm that has delivered several balls at over 150 kilometres an hour. His batting can still be very baseball, however. As with all strong-willed and passionate sportsmen, he will run through brick walls for those he respects. Pity those he does not. Neil Manthorp

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