Dudgeon replaces Maphaka at Paarl Royals

Kwena Maphaka, the rising left-arm speedster from St Stithians College, has been replaced by all-rounder Keith Dudgeon, who represents the KZN Inland Tuskers in the domestic structure, for the forthcoming Betway SA20.

Maphaka was picked by the Paarl Royals for the second edition of the T20 competition but will miss out on parts of it to represent the South African u19 team at the ICC u19 Cricket World Cup, which is being hosted in South Africa.

He will not be the only one young star affected by the u19 World Cup. His fellow competition rookies, Lhuan-dré Pretorius (Paarl Royals, St Stithians College) and Steve Stolk (Pretoria Capitals, Hoërskool Menlopark), will also be in action for the South African u19 team.

Maphaka’s selection for the prestigious tournament has left a void in the Paarl Royals’ bowling lineup and opened up a spot for Dudgeon, who has performed well domestically with both bat and ball this season.

Dudgeon attended Parktown Boys’ High School from 2009-2013, and represented South Africa u19 in 2014, playing a handful of Youth ODIs against England.

He joins fellow Parktown Boys’ old boy, left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who matriculated in 2008, at the Royals. The pair will hope to feature together during the tournament, especially at The Wanderers, where supporters from their school would, no doubt, turn out in their numbers.

Dudgeon represented Central Gauteng, before making the move down to KZN where he has represented the KwaZulu-Natal Inland team for a number of seasons.

His performances were instrumental in helping the Tuskers earn promotion from CSA Division Two to CSA Division One. Apart from his bowling, Dudgeon hits a clean ball down the order and will be aiming to build on his all-round game.

The Betway SA20 gets underway on 10 January, while the ICC u19 World Cup kicks off on 19 January.