SOUTH African schoolboy starlets are certainly the rage at the moment.
Following in the footsteps of sprinter Bayanda Walaza, a matriculant at Curro High in Pretoria who returned from the Paris Olympics with a 4x100m relay silver medal, the Proteas have now called up their own teenager in Kwena Maphaka for the three-match T20I series in the West Indies.
The 18-year-old seam bowler is currently also in Grade 12, at St Stithians in Johannesburg.
Maphaka’s star has been on the rise since he was drafted into the South Africa A side last year without having played a senior provincial game for the Lions.
He followed that with a call-up to the Paarl Royals’ SA20 squad, but was forced to miss South Africa’s premier T20 competition due to commitments at the Under-19 World Cup on home soil.
It was there that Maphaka shot to international prominence by being named Player of the Tournament after claiming 21 wickets.
Maphaka has since debuted in the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians, and in the process became the youngest South African player to participate in the IPL.
“Kwena has been identified as a player with significant potential, and this tour presents a great opportunity to include him in the Proteas environment and gain valuable international experience,” said SA white-ball coach Rob Walter.
The Proteas will be missing a large component of the squad that reached a first-ever T20 World Cup final in Barbados earlier this year, with Heinrich Klaasen, Anrich Nortjé, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen all all being rested for this series.
Impressive young leg-spinner Nqaba Peter was also not considered as he continues his rehabilitation from a shoulder injury.
This has left an opening for another uncapped player in Dolphins and Durban’s Super Giants all-rounder Jason Smith being called up for the first time.
Smith was the Dolphins’ leading run-scorer in the recent CSA T20 Challenge, striking 291 runs at an average of 41.57 and a strike-rate of 134.10, which included a half-century in the final against the Lions.
White-ball head coach Rob Walter has today named the 15-player squad for the upcoming three-match T20 International (T20I) series against the West Indies, which gets underway later this month in Trinidad and Tobago.
Commenting on the squad, Walter said: “Several players were not… pic.twitter.com/hx8PJ4d6tX
“We’re excited to have Jason and Kwena join the squad for this series. Jason’s recent performances have been impressive, and his ability to contribute with both bat and ball adds valuable depth to our line-up,” Walter said.
All three matches will be played at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago from August 23-27. The Proteas will look to avenge the 3-0 sweep suffered against the Windies just prior to the T20 World Cup.
Proteas T20 Squad
Aiden Markram (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Nandré Burger, Donovan Ferreira, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.