Shoaib Akhtar thinks there's no comparison between him and Brett Lee © Getty Images

Both react differently when put in the spotlight. Ntini, it appears, has been waiting for this all day, eager to get in there and reel off answers. He loves the attention, doesn't hesitate for a moment. He talks about the challenges he had to endure while growing up in a small village - "No television when I grew up, nobody to learn from" - and fondly remembers the moments at home. "For my people, I am just Makhaya, not a South African fast bowler. I am not a hero for them, just one of them. Young boys come up to me and say, "Teach me to bowl fast". It feels amazing, amazing."

Shoaib is cool, at least he seems cool. He's constantly fiddling with his gold necklace, shuffling his sandals, fidgeting with his mobile phone. Some questions seem to bore him, he even yawns. It appears all he wants is to finish with this unnecessary hindrance. He wishes people understood the effort that goes into bowling fast, the pains that he's had to endure. Yet, he has no doubt that, if he were to start all over again, he would do nothing but bowl fast. "It's a thrill, mate," he says in an accent that's cutely comical, "you have to experience it to realise the feeling."

Two men, one profession, two completely different outlooks. They're so different, yet when they begin their run-up with the speed gun somewhere in the vicinity, there's hardly any difference.