All it took for South Africa’s Kwena Maphaka to stamp his presence at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 was two balls.
Off his second delivery in the tournament, he bowled a searing, in-swinging yorker that had West Indies opener Adrian Weir flummoxed.
What followed was an animated punch in the air and a big celebration — quite in contrast to the very mellow one he had planned with his elder brother Tetelo. For a few seconds, Maphaka was drawn into the moment, the adrenaline rush getting the better of him. He would end the day with a five-wicket haul, a feat he would go on to achieve twice more in the next few weeks.
“That one [spell against West Indies] is probably closest to my heart,” Maphaka told ICC.
“I just try to put out a good performance every game, but the West Indies one was the most memorable for me. It was the first game of the tournament, lots of nerves, ahome World Cup, I thought my spell helped us get off to a really good start to the tournament…set the tone”
The tone was set the moment Maphaka’s sharp inswinger thudded into Weir’s boots. It was the culmination of what Maphaka considers the perfect plan — getting the new ball to swing as much as he can, and surprise the batter.
Maphaka loves the inswinger. After his last Super Six game, the South African teenager, who’d cheekily said he hoped he was better than Jasprit Bumrah, watched the Indian quick’s unplayable yorker to Ollie Pope in the Test series in India.