Rabada, Maphaka offer SA cricket fans a glimpse of the present and future

Friday night under lights at the Wanderers and Kwena Maphaka gets to open the bowling with Kagiso Rabada. 

Other 17-year-olds might want to hang out with their pals at a braai, but it’s doubtful that Maphaka — whose exploits at the recent under-19 World Cup turned him into “the next big thing” — would want to be anywhere else. 

It’s a delicious prospect and it’s not the only one that could occur in the CSA T20 Challenge. Steve Stolk and Lhuan-dre Pretorius at the Momentum Multiply (Northerns) Titans and Tristan Luus at the HollywoodBets (KZN) Dolphins will all get to test their mettle in the senior arena, having shone on the biggest stage in junior cricket. 

As the headline performers for the SA under-19s at the recent World Cup, Maphaka, Pretorius, Stolk and Luus will have their progress most closely monitored by supporters and coaches alike — and not just in SA but franchise owners in leagues around the world. 

Maphaka has already tasted senior professional cricket, first as a surprise call-up for the SA A team that toured Sri Lanka last year and then in one match for the DP World (Central Gauteng) Lions in the Four-Day Series this season. He bowled 24 overs in that match against the Warriors in Gqeberha, a match the Lions lost but in which he took four wickets. 

Friday night at the Wanderers, should he earn a starting spot, would be a step up from that. 

Though the match isn’t being broadcast on television, the prospect of seeing him and Rabada share the new ball is a mouthwatering one. The present superstar of South African cricket, and very much the torch bearer of this country’s storied fast-bowling history, and the kid everyone reckons will step into his shoes at some point in the future. 

For Maphaka, who turns 18 next month, it’s the ideal start to his professional career, as he’ll be sharing the field with plenty of experienced teammates. Besides Rabada, the likes of Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks will provide a supportive shoulder. 

It will be the same for the rest. Stolk, who like Maphaka already has a SA20 deal, and Pretorius will be able to soak up information from the Proteas T20 captain, Aiden Markram, the most devastating batter in white ball cricket in the past two years, Heinrich Klaasen and fast bowler Lungi Ngidi. 

It’s unlikely both will play together in the first week of the tournament, given the presence of the Titans’ IPL-bound players, which in addition to the trio mentioned above also include Donovan Ferreira and Dewald Brevis. 

In Durban, Luus — who was such an effective foil for Maphaka once he was brought into the SA under-19 side — will play alongside Keshav Maharaj, who is captaining the Dolphins, JJ Smuts, Ottneil Baartman and Andile Phehlukwayo.

“It's a privilege to be able to pass on my knowledge to the next generation, but also to learn from the guys that have been here for a long time,” said Maharaj. 

Too often in the past decade, such interaction has been missing — to the detriment of the development of young players. With international cricket’s packed schedule and the growth and expansion of the T20 Leagues, SA’s best players haven’t had the opportunity to spend more time helping the new generation. 

The T20 Challenge is a six-week competition that involves plenty of travel around the country and creates enough time for information to be shared and young players like Maphaka, Stolk and Pretorius to sponge off older teammates. It’s not just in the verbal exchange of ideas but also in observing how the senior players prepare that will prove invaluable for the rookies. 

The tournament itself is shaping up as a crucial one. For the likes of Van der Dussen, Hendricks, Bavuma, Ryan Rickelton, Lions captain Bjorn Fortuin, Warriors opener Jordan Hermann and Dolphins batter Marques Ackerman, it will be the last chance to impress Rob Walter before he finalises his squad for the T20 World Cup. 

The build-up to that tournament is extremely limited because of the IPL, which is expected to finish in the last week of May. The T20 World Cup starts on June 2, with SA opening its tournament against Sri Lanka in New York on June 3. 

Therefore players have little wiggle room, which will add to the pressure of the T20 Challenge. That too is a good learning point for the younger players, though it will be stressed by their elders and coaches that just being on the field, sharing the dressing room and even seats together on flights to the coast are all experiences they should lap up and which will prove invaluable as they take their first steps in the professional arena.