Latest news with #Maphaka
The Star
18 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Shukri Conrad places his trust in teenager Kwena Maphaka to lead Proteas Test attack
Zaahier Adams | Published 1 day ago The excitement around Kwena Maphaka is comprehensible. He sends down left-arm down thunderbolts that have touched the 150km/h mark. He is strong, mature, smart and ambitious, and hails from the same St Stithians College stock as Kagiso Rabada. The fact that he's only 19 years old ensures he appeals to an entire generation unburdened by the country's fractious past. In essence, Maphaka is the future of the Proteas cricket team on the field, and with a home World Cup on the horizon in two years' time, he is the picture-perfect image Cricket SA are trying to promote off it. This is an almighty load to bear for anyone – let alone someone only recently eligible to obtain a driver's licence – with even the great Rabada admitting to having suffered from bouts of anxiety during the early years of his international career. It is for this reason that Maphaka can only be grateful that he has Shukri Conrad steering his Proteas future. Conrad intentionally left the teenager out of his World Test Championship Final squad. For all Maphaka's promise, Lord's was no child's playground, with the grizzled Australians, the opposition, and the cameras of the world highlighting every play. Instead, Conrad will unleash Maphaka – and as he rightfully says, 'with all due respect to Zimbabwe' – at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo in Saturday's first Test (10am start). 'With Lungi (Ngidi) not being here for the first Test, Kwena Maphaka is going to lead the bowling attack,' Conrad confirmed on Thursday. 'As a 19 year old, when you get given that responsibility, it doesn't only speak volumes for how highly we rate him, but also the calibre and the mentality that he possesses. 'He's a young buck that shows maturity way beyond his years. 'So, yeah, he'll definitely be leading the attack in the first Test.' Conrad's laudatory remarks were quickly diluted by caution, though, with the veteran mentor wilfully trying to limit expectations to allow Maphaka the space to develop at his own pace. Equally, though, he understands the young cub's eagerness to shoulder greater responsibility – like he had always done throughout his school and youth international career. 'We've obviously got to be very smart in identifying when we do put him out in the shop window. I think this would be a great time for him,' the Proteas coach said. 'Zimbabwe, and I am talking Test cricket specifically, where he is not the third quick behind KG (Rabada) and Marco (Jansen) necessarily, but he is the main dog. 'So, that responsibility will grow massively, and it's all about being patient. 'Just like you need to be patient with batters, you need to be patient with bowlers as well. 'We're not going to see the best of Kwena Mphaka in the next couple of months, but these are all the building blocks so that we can see the best of Kwena in, say, three or four years' time.' Maphaka's development as a top-class paceman is integral to Conrad's overall plan of growing the South African fast-bowling depth. This has been boosted by the return to fitness of Gerald Coetzee and Nandré Burger, with both seamers being included in the Proteas T20I squad for the upcoming Tri-Series in Zimbabwe. However, this has been offset by Anrich Nortjé suffering yet another 'stress reaction', ruling the 31-year-old out of selection. The 'Uitenhage Express' has also not travelled to MLC in the United States, which has limited his game-time to just two IPL matches all year. 'We will have to see the length of the time that he will be out and the extent of the injury. I really feel for him,' Conrad said. 'He is a superstar fast bowler, and having to deal with setback after setback can't be easy. We will wait to see how serious it is. 'Naturally, we are worried. In Anrich's case, this is the second or third stress reaction in his back. 'It is too early to make a diagnosis, and we are definitely not drawing a line through this name. 'He is 31 years old, and we are going to give him every chance to come back. We will have to see what the medical team think is the best way forward.'
Mint
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Mint
'He is the main dog': SA coach Conrad backs teen star Kwena as frontline bowler during Zimbabwe series
Bulawayo [Zimbabwe], June 27 (ANI): South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad said that young left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka will be the "main dog" in the bowling department for the national team in the upcoming Test series against Zimbabwe in the absence of experienced fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Marco Jansen. The playing eleven of the defending ICC World Test Championship (WTC) will feature three debutants, Dewald Brevis, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and pacer Codi Yusuf. The match is the first of the Proteas' WTC 2025-27 cycle and will start from Saturday onwards. The visitors have a a new-look bowling lineup featuring Corbin Bosch, Codi Yusuf and Kwena Maphaka, other thanleft-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. Among the three pacers, Yusuf makes his Test debut, while Bosch and Maphaka have featured in a Test before. Speaking on Maphaka, Shukri Conrad said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, "With Lungi not being here for the first Test, Kwena's going to lead the bowling attack. As a 19-year-old, when you get given that responsibility, it doesn't only speaks volumes for how highly you are rated, but also the calibre and the mentality that he possesses. He's a young buck that shows maturity way beyond his years." "We've obviously got to be very smart in identifying when we put him out in the shop window, and I think this would be a great time for him. In Zimbabwe, in Test cricket specifically, he is not the third quick behind KG and Marco necessarily but he is the main dog. That responsibility will grow massively," the coach added. Maphaka played his maiden game in the longest format of the game during the Test match against Pakistan earlier this year as fourth seamer along with Rabada, Jansen, and Wiaan Mulder. In that match, the 19-year-old bowled 21.2 overs across the two innings, finished with 3 for 90 Following an injury to full-time skipper Temba Bavuma, Maharaj was named as the skipper of the South Africa side for the tour. Bavuma had sustained a hamstring strain during the World Test Championship Final, but continued to bat bravely thereafter, guiding the Proteas to a historic title. Maharaj will lead a young XI into the first Test in Bulawayo, with Tony de Zorzi and Matthew Breetzke being named as the designated openers, as per the ICC. Mulder will have another go at number three, after having impressed in the second innings of the Ultimate Test, while David Bedingham finds himself promoted to number four. Debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who has just seven first-class games to his name, comes in at number five, whereas Dewald Brevis, who also makes his Test debut, sits at number six. Lhuan, who had a breakout SA20 for Paarl Royals this year with 397 runs in 12 matches with three fifties, has made 485 runs in seven first-class games at an average of 60.62, with three tons and a fifty. Brevis, who scored poorly in two T20Is he played for Proteas, has been in tremendous form across all formats for a long while and had a solid stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), scoring 225 runs in six matches at an average of 37.50, with two fifties, at a strike rate of 180.00. Kyle Verreynne will keep the wickets and bat at seven. In all, just four members of the side that featured in the World Test Championship Final against Australia at Lord's will feature in this Test for the Proteas. Maharaj is also on the verge of becoming the first-ever South African spinner to achieve the landmark of 200 Test wickets, being just one scalp away from the feat. SA's Playing XI: Tony de Zorzi, Matthew Breetzke, Wiaan Mulder, David Bedingham, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj (c), Codi Yusuf, Kwena Maphaka. (ANI)
IOL News
a day ago
- Sport
- IOL News
KG, Lungi, Marco showed what it means to be a good pace attack for Proteas, says Kwena Maphaka
Kwena Maphaka revealed that he feels inspired after the Proteas recently won the World Test Championship. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix When Kagiso Rabada handed Kwena Maphaka his maiden ODI cap last summer, he reiterated the Proteas team ethos – 'to those before us and those to come' – in a speech that passed down a long-standing tradition. That painted a vivid picture of what it means to play for the country and what is expected of a Proteas player. Six months later, Maphaka, 19, is about to take on the biggest responsibility of his young career: leading the South African pace attack for the first time in Test cricket in the absence of the rested Rabada and the other senior quicks. To his advantage, the heroics of Lord's remain a fresh memory. Rabada's nine-wicket haul, along with the 11 other Australian wickets shared amongst the bowlers, offers a perfect template of what a Proteas bowling performance should look like. In an exclusive interview with Independent Media, Maphaka said that the Proteas' efforts in the World Test Championship final at Lord's inspired him to raise his game in the upcoming two-match series against Zimbabwe, which starts at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo tomorrow. 'The World Test Championship final was an absolute spectacle. One of the key conversations going into the match was South Africa's pace attack versus Australia's pace attack,' said Maphaka. 'The likes of KG, Lungi, Marco and Wiaan really showed what it means to be a great pace attack, and they put South Africa's fast bowlers back on the map. 'There's been a lot of talk about the fast bowlers coming out of South Africa – and really good ones at that – so seeing that was really special. 'It's given me inspiration to raise my game and be the newcomer rising through the ranks. 'Hopefully, I can emulate what they've done. 'Hopefully, we reach another World Test Championship final, and I could be the one doing the job for the Proteas.' Maphaka was also among the fans at OR Tambo International Airport during the Proteas' homecoming last week – an experience he described as 'weird', finding himself back in the shoes of the fan he used to be. 'I was at the airport for the Proteas homecoming after they won the World Test Championship final, and it was really cool being in and amongst the fans – being a bit of a fan myself,' he said. 'It's a pretty weird situation to be in because I've been a fan of these guys for so long. I watched them on TV, and then I got to play with them. 'It took me back to my 14- or 15-year-old self, just being a fan again and soaking in the moment with the rest of the people there.' Maphaka will lead the attack in the first Test before Lungi Ngidi joins the squad for the second. The left-armer, who made his Test debut in January at Newlands, plans to settle quickly in Bulawayo. 'The first – and currently only – time I played Test cricket was in January on debut. That New Year's Test was really special,' said Maphaka. 'I started shakily, but I found my feet as the game went on. 'Going into this Zimbabwe Test tour, I just want to make sure I find my feet early and perform at my best.'
IOL News
2 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Shukri Conrad places his trust in teenager Kwena Maphaka to lead Proteas Test attack
KWENA MAPHAKA: Teenage fast bowler Kwena Maphaka is destined to be the next Proteas poster boy. Picture: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix The excitement around Kwena Maphaka is comprehensible. He sends down left-arm down thunderbolts that have touched the 150km/h mark. He is strong, mature, smart and ambitious, and hails from the same St Stithians stock as Kagiso Rabada. The fact that he's only 19-year-old ensures he appeals to an entire generation unburdened by the country's fractious past. In essence, Maphaka is the future of the Proteas cricket team on the field, and with a home World Cup on the horizon in two years' time, the picture-perfect image Cricket SA are trying to promote off it. This is an almighty load to bear for anyone - let alone someone only recently eligible to obtain a drivers licence - with even the great Rabada admitting to having suffered from bouts of anxiety during the early years of his international career. It is for this reason that Maphaka can only be grateful that he has Shukri Conrad steering his Proteas' future. Conrad intentionally left the teenager out of his World Test Championship Final squad. For all Maphaka's promise, Lord's was no children's playground with the grizzled Australians, the opposition, and the cameras of the world highlighting every play. Instead, Conrad will unleash Maphaka - and as he rightfully says 'with all due respect to Zimbabwe' - at the Queens Sports Ground in Bulawayo in Saturday's first Test. 'With Lungi (Ngidi) not being here for the first Test, Kwena Maphaka is going to lead the bowling attack,' Conrad confirmed on Thursday. 'As a 19-year-old, when you get given that responsibility, it doesn't only speak volumes for how highly we rate him, but also the calibre and the mentality that he possesses. 'He's a young buck that shows maturity way beyond his years. So, yeah, he'll definitely be leading the attack in the first Test.' Conrad's laudatory remarks were quickly diluted by caution though, with the veteran mentor willfully trying to limit expectations to allow Maphaka the space to develop at his own pace. Equally, though, he understands the young Cub's eagerness to shoulder greater responsibility - like had always done throughout his school and youth international career. 'We've obviously got to be very smart in identifying when we do put him out in the shop window. I think this would be a great time for him. 'Zimbabwe, and I am talking Test cricket specifically,where he is not the third quick behind KG (Rabada) and Marco (Jansen) necessarily, but he is the main dog. 'So that responsibility will grow massively, and it's all about being patient. Just like you need to be patient with batters, you need to be patient with bowlers as well. 'We're not going to see the best of Kwena Mphaka in the next couple of months, but these are all the building blocks so that we can see the best of Kwena in, say, three or four years' time.' Maphaka's development as a top-class paceman is integral to Conrad's overall plan of growing the South African fast bowling depth. ANRICH NORTJE Kolkata Knight Riders' Anrich Nortje has only played two matches all year. Photo: AFP Image: AFP
The Citizen
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
‘Bring all to dialogue': Experts insist national dialogue must be people-driven
Political analysts stress the need for land restitution and broad participation to ensure a meaningful and effective national dialogue. Experts say the envisaged national dialogue must not be a top-down process, but people-driven and discuss contentious issues like land and racial polarisation. But more importantly, said one expert, the dialogue required full commitment from various actors to find a collective solution to the country's myriad problems. Political analyst and scholar Dominic Maphaka from North-West University said the dialogue was necessary to unite the diverse and divided country. National dialogue necessary to unite country He said, as outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa, stakeholders, including business, labour, civil society, communities, youth and people with disabilities, should form part of the dialogue to chart the way forward. 'But the dialogue will require a commitment from various actors to form part of a collective solution to the myriad problems faced by the country,' Maphaka said. ALSO READ: Thandiswa Mazwai says she would've accepted invite to national dialogue had Ramaphosa sent it He alluded to the fact that, due to the vibrant civil society, nonstate actors were often at loggerheads with government and opposing its development policies. 'Despite having divergent ideologies, it is not far-fetched that South Africans share common problems in many areas. I therefore think that ideologies should not take precedence in the dialogue; instead, stakeholders should deliberate and find common policy solutions to address common policy problems,' Maphaka said. Ramaphosa yesterday said he would call a National Convention on 15 August, which would set the agenda for the National Dialogue. National Convention to set agenda A follow-up convention would be held early next year. He said the convention would be a representative gathering, bringing together government, political parties, civil society, business, labour, traditional leaders, religious leaders, cultural workers, sports organisations, women, youth and community voices. Some experts believed people and civil society, not government and political parties, should lead the planned dialogue process, including the convention. ALSO READ: Ramaphosa urges caution as floods claims lives in Eastern Cape Political analyst Lesiba Teffo said the national dialogue was not supposed to be driven by the state because that was where the seeds of its failure lay. 'It was contested from inception and some of the initiators are now in the periphery. A reasonable modality would be to start in the provinces whose reports would feed into the national convention. Otherwise, you are likely to end up with another voluminous, glossy and expensive National Development Plan 0.2 Vision 2040,' Teffo said. The need for an all-inclusive national dialogue was first proposed by former president Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki, assisted by Jacob Zuma, was the ANC's first chief negotiator at the pre-1994 Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) talks before they were replaced by Ramaphosa and Mohammed Valli Moosa. Need for national dialogue first proposed by Mbeki There seemed to be a common view that dialogue should involve various roleplayers – from civil society, to state, business, trade unions and political parties. It is understood that the struggle stalwarts' foundations were involved in consultations to kick off the process, while Nedlac was identified to play a role as one of the facilitators due to its composite nature with business, trade unions, community and government. ALSO READ: 'A meaningless publicity stunt by a limping president': EFF slams Ramaphosa's national dialogue call Political and heritage analyst George Tsibani, who supports the idea of a national dialogue, said such a gathering should address the question of land in its proper perspective. He said democratic South Africa was a result of a negotiated settlement that was underpinned by Sunset Clauses that were a compromise and did not address the land question. 'If we pretend that there was no compromise, it would take the focus away from the land issue. The land redistribution and restitution must form the cornerstone of national dialogue,' Tsibani said. Previous Codesa process failed The previous Codesa process failed to address many issues due to the Sunset Clause that allowed for the continuation of white control of the state. 'So Codesa 2 must address the land issue in its totality, meaning there must be a deliberate restitution of land for the people who lost their land during the colonial and slavery periods,' Tsibani said. NOW READ: Ramaphosa, Chief Justice mourn passing of Judge Temba Sangoni
