He was born and raised in South Africa but ANU fast bowler Michael Ninneman would rather cheer on Mitchell Starc than Dale Steyn.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The right-arm quick was brought to Australia aged 12 in search of a better life, and now he'll look to steer ANU to a boilover in the Cricket ACT John Gallop Cup grand final at Stirling Oval on Sunday.
Ninneman is primed to play a huge role as the Owls enter their first one-day grand final in nine years, looking to win their first title since 1996-97, against Weston Creek Molonglo.
It's taken "a fair journey" to get here, and Ninneman makes no secret of where his allegiances lie.
"Australia for sure, Australian passport, Australia for sure," Ninneman said.
"[My] parents got work [in Australia] and decided it was a better option for us as a family to move out of the country and Australia offers a lot more.
"Cricket is pretty big back there [in South Africa] so it's always been a massive part of my childhood, wanting to play cricket at the highest level.
"I grew up [in Darwin] through most of my teens. Cricket is obviously not as high a standard so it's good to be here down here playing at a higher level."
Ninneman is in his second season at ANU but his path to the club was anything but orthodox, having been nudged towards Canberra by his coach in Darwin, Graeme Smith.
Smith linked Ninneman up with former ACT Comets coach Andrew Dawson before injury set the move back a year.
As Ninneman was preparing to make the leap ahead of the 2016-17 season he still had no allegiances to a Canberra club.
It just so happened that one of his opponents in Darwin was ANU wicketkeeper Max Wakefield.
"I played against Max Wakefield in Darwin and he asked me to come and play for ANU at the same time which was a bit of a coincidence," Ninneman said.
"I had a chat to [Cricket ACT high performance coach Kyle Piper] and we figured that all out and worked it all out."
Ninneman rekindled his relationship with Dawson this year when the former Meteors mentor took the reins at ANU and set about turning the club into a Cricket ACT powerhouse.
Things are looking up for the Owls, who will be represented in all four one-day grand finals on Sunday in a watershed moment for the club.
"He's done a lot of work in just changing the culture of the group and bringing that really professional atmosphere into the club," Ninneman said.
"It's really just reflecting into the depth of all the grades, having all four grades in the grand final this weekend.
"The boys are all behind each other and it's very special having all four grades, and hopefully all four grades are able to celebrate on the weekend as well."
Weston Creek Molonglo will enter a record-breaking 11th consecutive Cricket ACT grand final across all formats but Ninneman is relishing the underdog tag.
Both sides have a chance to find form on day two of their Douglas Cup clashes, with ANU battling against Queanbeyan and Weston Creek Molonglo facing a hefty run chase against Ginninderra.
CRICKET ACT DOUGLAS CUP
Saturday: Round nine - ANU v Queanbeyan at ANU North Oval, Wests-UC v Eastlake at Jamison Oval, Weston Creek Molonglo v Ginninderra at Stirling Oval, North Canberra-Gungahlin v Tuggeranong at Harrison Oval. All games at 11am.
CRICKET ACT GALLOP CUP
Sunday: Grand final - Weston Creek Molonglo v ANU at Stirling Oval, 11am.
