After taking a few strides to the crease, Kwena Maphaka bowled. He jogged to the crease and bowled after that. He loped after that. He chugged after that. Then he sprinted. And each time bowled.
On the third day of Western Province’s first-class match against the Lions, this occurred over lunch on a practice pitch at Newlands.
The Lions needed to bowl 45 overs to dismiss WP for 193 in the first innings on Thursday, and Maphaka had only bowled 5.5 of those overs. He was able to put his feet up as the Lions batted for nearly 12 hours before declaring at 552 for 9 after feeling a hamstring ache and leaving the pitch.
Is he going to bowl in the second inning?
It was a mixed message from Maphaka. “He’s out,” exclaimed someone in the WP camp. According to the Lions, “He’s fine,”
After reportedly surviving his noon test, Maphaka shared the new ball with Beyers Swanepoel. He bowled 10 overs, taking three wickets, in what turned out to be the final seven overs of the game, looking as good as ever. The Lions prevailed with one day remaining by an innings and 134 runs.
Maphaka was sent for an MRI on Monday, even though everything appeared to be fine. Just to make sure everything was okay. It wasn’t.
With a strained hamstring, Maphaka was declared out on Wednesday, according to a CSA release: “Subsequent scans and medical assessments revealed a grade 1-2 injury, and he will undergo rehabilitation over the next four weeks.”
Maphaka will not play in the T20I. The six white-ball international matches that South Africa will play in Pakistan from October 28 to November 8 include a match against Namibia in Windhoek on Saturday. From Sunday to October 24, he was not included in the team for the Test matches in Lahore and Rawalpindi. Maphaka will be replaced in Windhoek and throughout the three Twenty20 Internationals in Pakistan by Ottneil Baartman. Lizaad Williams will play in all three of the ODIs.
You could wonder why the Lions took the chance of bowling Maphaka in the second innings given that he was already injured. so they didn’t think he was hurt. Of course he didn’t.
“He had a scan during the first innings which came back clear,” Lions CEO Jono Leaf-Wright told Cricbuzz on Thursday. “The physio and medical team managed him and got him ready to bowl in the second innings.”
With Hashim Amla and Allan Donald in the batting and bowling positions and Russell Domingo as their head coach, the Lions have more managerial experience in their locker room than most teams. Maphaka’s selection to bowl in the second innings was undoubtedly a logical one. After all, medical opinion informed it. But even medical professionals make mistakes.
Perhaps Maphaka ought to have missed Saturday’s performance, given the irksomely flawless science of hindsight. Though it came at a high cost, he played a key role in propelling his team to victory.
Given that he is only 19, he will play in many more South African matches than his current total of two Tests, three ODIs, and thirteen T20Is. The idea is that he will require cautious management if he is to have a lengthy international career. If not, today’s pain turns into tomorrow’s harm.
India
