Conrad’s faith in Maphaka: A new era for SA cricket

Three years ago Shukri Conrad picked an unknown 15-year-old for the ICC U19 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Outside of the hallowed halls of St Stithians at Lyme Park in Johannesburg nobody would have known the potential of young left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka.

Three years later and their paths have crossed again. Only now Conrad is the master in charge of the Proteas red-ball team who handed the now 18-year-old a Test debut over New Year at Newlands.

“My relationship with coach Shuks is really good having worked with him in the past few years. It’s been really nice. He is definitely a coach that backs me,” Maphaka told reporters after the Proteas’ 10-wicket victory over Pakistan.

“He is not a coach who is scared of backing his players. And that’s really helpful and impactful as a cricketer to say: ‘My coach backs me 100%!’

“I can back myself and know there is no real pressure on me. Of course, cricket is a game of pressure but there is no pressure from the changeroom in terms of my performance and how I go about my business.”

Maphaka’s rise to being South Africa’s youngest Test debutant has certainly been on the cards ever since Conrad also sent him a SOS to join the South Africa ‘A’ side in Sri Lanka without having played a single first-class match.

The expectation only increased when Maphaka shot to global attention by claiming 21 wickets, whilst breaking the record for most five-wicket hauls at the ICC U19 World Cup, last year on home soil.

While injuries to a whole arsenal of Proteas quicks ranging from Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams and Gerald Coetzee fast-tracked the process, it was always simply a matter of when and not if.

Having earlier in the summer also made his ODI debut under the watch of Table Mountain, Maphaka had already sampled the unique taste of Newlands brimming to capacity.

But even that experience could not prevent the butterflies rumbling in his stomach when captain Temba Bavuma threw the ball to him in the 11th over of Pakistan’s first innings.

The excitement of it all saw Maphaka send down a few deliveries in excess of 140km/h, but the radar was not quite on target.

“It was pretty difficult to stay focused at the beginning because it’s a completely different environment to what I’m used to,” Maphaka said.

“But I think once you start getting into the game, it automatically locks in. You’re playing and you're here for a reason.”

Every professional sportsperson needs a little bit of luck though too.

And Maphaka was afforded that when he slipped a quickish delivery down the leg-side which former Pakistan captain Babar Azam gloved behind to wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne to gift him his first Test wicket.

Throughout the Test when Maphaka was called into the attack the Newlands faithful roared in appreciation.

Now they had a genuine reason to stretch their vocals with the teenager enjoying the moment in equal measure as he charged all the way down to the other side of the field in a manic celebration.

“It was really crazy. I was just trying to hit a good area. That ball did not go where it was supposed to. (laughs). Things like that happen for a reason. I was really happy that I got that wicket,” Maphaka said.

“Running through my mind at that moment was literally nothing other than the fact I got my first Test wicket. Let me run around and parade.”

There were two further wickets in the match for Maphaka, while he should also have had another had Bavuma sent a review upstairs when he trapped Saud Shakeel on the pads.

“It's really one of those things where you make the right decision or you make the wrong decision and it doesn't really matter, you've got to get on with the game," he said.

"We made the wrong decision but it wasn't really helpful to look back. It was actually just better to look forward and say, you know what, we're going to get him out anyway. Let's see how we're going to get him out."

Maphaka certainly handled the disappointment of missing out on another Test wicket with greater maturity than Pakistan captain Shan Masood, who was visibly livid when the Decision Review System showed that he was struck in line by the teenage left-arm seamer.

It was during this period when Maphaka certainly showed all the attributes that suggests he indeed has a promising Test future ahead of him.

“All the nerves were gone and it was all about me running in and hitting an area,” he said.

“I was really just trying to stay calm and trying to be as focused as possible on bowling the same ball, or similar balls consistently, rather than trying too many things at once," he said.

"Test cricket from what I've heard and what I've seen, is a game of simplicity, so I was just trying to keep it as simple as possible.“