Unsure if he should have a beer — Maphaka’s memorable debut at Newlands

So what was Kwena Maphaka’s first Test like? 

Well, he got teased about his matric results — which will be revealed next week. He got to bowl with Kagiso Rabada, his idol, dismissed Babar Azam with a bad ball and wasn’t sure if he could have a post-match beer. 

He’s still 18 and though legally he can drink, it’s perhaps best that his first “fines meeting” be restricted to one of those soft drinks mixed with milkshake concoctions. 

His debut Test was a success. First, the team won, he took three wickets and got a catch.

“It was difficult to stay focused in the beginning because it’s a completely different environment to what I am used to,” Maphaka said about making his debut — which was also only his fourth first class match.

“Once you are into the game, bowled your first ball, fielded your first ball or faced your first ball, it automatically locks in that you’re playing, you’re here for a reason. It wasn’t too much a case of me focusing on being focused, it just happened.”

Maphaka became South Africa’s youngest Test cricketer at Newlands, taking over from Paul Adams who was a few months older when he made his debut against England in 1995/1996. 

His first Test wicket arrived with the penultimate delivery of his sixth over. “That ball did not go where it was supposed to,” Maphaka smiled. It was a leg stump half volley, but instead of whacking it to the boundary like he should have, Babar, Pakistan’s superstar of the past decade, could only edge it, with Kyle Verreynne doing the rest behind the stumps. 

Mayhem ensued. Mapakha set off on an arcing run that took him away from his teammates initially, who had no chance of getting to him, before he eventually circled back and found them. 

“At the time there was nothing, literally nothing, going through my mind other than, ‘I’ve got my first Test wicket’, let me run around.”

Nerves got the better of him in that first innings. Neither lines nor lengths were what they should be but he showed he has pace — consistently pushing the speed gun past 140km/h — and got plenty of movement that unsettled Pakistan’s batters.

There was a much improved performance from him in the second innings and his spell from the Kelvin Grove End on Monday was arguably the best from any South African bowler on what turned out to be the last day of the match. 

Maphaka’s rhythm was sublime, he bowled the short ball accurately, had a 79-over-old ball reverse swinging, sliced Mohammad Rizwan in half, with a swerving in-ducker from over the wicket, delivered at 143km/h and most crucially dismissed Shan Masood, with a beautiful ball, that slanted in late at the left-hander. 

The Pakistan captain was furious, claiming the ball was an outswinger and would have missed the stumps, but he was certainly beaten for pace and in the middle of that spell was finding Maphaka very hard to handle.

His figures for the spell read: 7-0-16-1 and as pure numbers, don’t say much, but watching it, one couldn’t but salivate at what the future holds for Maphaka. 

“All the nerves were gone and I was just focused on hitting an area and trying to be as consistent as possible,” he said about that spell. 

“I was trying to stay calm and be as focused as possible on bowling a similar ball consistently, rather than trying too many things at once. What I’ve heard and seen is that Test cricket is a game of simplicity.”

Temba Bavuma was pleased with his young charge, but even happier that his first Test came on a placid Newlands surface where he was made to work hard for his reward. 

“That’s an experience, especially for young Kwena. He will savour making his debut. The game is a little longer than just four overs in T20. I’m sure with him he will have a little more respect for Test cricket.”

Maphaka delighted in sharing that second new ball with Kagiso Rabada, who has long been his mentor. “I’ve worked with him for a few years, he’s definitely been a role model, like a big brother to me. Being able to step out onto Newlands, in front of a really nice crowd and bowl with him was really enjoyable.”

Such has been Maphaka’s rise, particularly in the past 12 months, that he is already being pulled in a number of different directions. He will barely have time to soak in the experience of his first Test. He is one of the faces of this season’s SA20 and is due at training on Thursday with the Paarl Royals before their start in that competition on Saturday.