Kwena Maphaka makes history
Kwena Maphaka has been on a tear, and another sensational performance from the left-arm speedster powered South Africa into the semi-finals of the ICC u19 Cricket World Cup on Friday.
Playing in Potchefstroom, Maphaka captured 6/21 in 8.2 overs, cutting through the Sri Lankan lineup in no time at all to hamstring their run chase from the start, which led to the islanders being dismissed in the 24th over of their innings.
It was a Youth ODI record fourth five-for for the St Stithians’ star, breaking a tie he shared with three others. It was also a record third five-wicket haul in the 2024 u19 World Cup, and his fourth five-forof the year, after he knocked over 5/25 against Afghanistan in a warm-up match in January.
Victory was of utmost importance for the hosts as they went in pursuit of a final four spot, and they turned on the style to thump the Sri Lankans by 119 runs.
Maphaka, who made his World Cup debut in the West Indies in 2022, had stolen the spotlight with his two five-wicket hauls earlier in the tournament. On Friday, he induced three catches, which were pocketed by wicketkeeper Lhuan-dré Pretorius in his first three overs to reduce the opposition to 13/3 in the fifth over.
Two more catches secured Maphaka’s five-for in his sixth over at a cost of only 18 runs.
Later, he returned to the attack and promptly ended the innings with a sixth wicket, which brought the contest to a fitting close as the home team recorded an emphatic victory. There was little doubt who the Player of the Match was.
Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to field first, but Pretorius and Steve Stolk got South Africa off to a comfortable start.
Pretorius was in top form, racing to 71 before losing his wicket in unfortunate circumstances. He was run out backing up when the ball ricocheted onto his stumps at the non-striker’s end after hitting the hand of bowler, Supun Waduge.
The Sri Lankan spinners wreaked havoc on the hosts’ middle order, snaring four wickets for 30 runs at one point, led by Waduge (2/28), while Vishwa Lahiru and Malsha Tharupathi also picked up two wickets each.
However, Riley Norton and Romashan Pillay did well to steady the ship for the young Proteas.
Pillay delivered his best knock of the tournament so far, weathering 53 deliveries and contributing 27 runs at a crucial stage of the game.
Norton’s undefeated 41 helped South Africa set Sri Lanka a target of 233 and that total soon looked sound after Maphaka muscled control of the game into the hosts’ favour with his spectacular bowling.
Following Maphaka’s onslaught, Norton ensured South Africa kept up the pressure, snapping up 4/28 as Sri Lanka buckled.
The exciting young talent, who is in his matric year at Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch, is one of only 15 players to represent South African Schools in both rugby and cricket, and only the third forward to achieve that rare feat.
Despite the dominant performance by South Africa, there were some fielding errors that they will want to address before Tuesday’s semi-final, where they are likely to come up against India, who are favoured to finish top of their group.
It was, regardless, a fantastic performance by the South African side and a special moment for Maphaka as he etched his name into the history books.
In a playoff between Namibia and Scotland, a thrilling game was decided by only three runs, with the Scots sneaking a nail-biting win.
Bahadar Esakhiel (76*) and Jamie Dunk (76) shone for Scotland as they posted 251/6.
Zacheo van Vuuren (86) and Johannes Visagie (69) drove Namibia to their highest total of the tournament in reply, but it wasn’t quite enough as they fell agonisingly short of their target.
Namibia will take on the USA to determine 16th place after the Americans lost their playoff match against Afghanistan on Wednesday.
Summarised Scorecards
Super Sixes
South Africa u19 232/8 (Lhuan-dré Pretorius 71, Riley Norton 41, Romashan Pillay 27, Steve Stolk 22; Supun Waduge 2/28, Vishwa Lahiru 2/44, Malsha Tharupathi 2/46); Sri Lanka u19 113/10 (Sharujan Shanmuganathan 29, Malsha Tharupathi 21; Kwena Maphaka 6/21, Riley Norton 4/28). South Africa u19 won by 119 runs.
Nepal u19 169/10 (Bishal Bikram KC 48, Dev Khanal 35, Extras 31; Rohanat Doullah Borson 4/19, Sheikh Paevez Jibon 3/34); Bangladesh u19 170/5 (Ariful Islam 59*, Jishan Alam 55; Subash Bhandari 5/44). Bangladesh won by five wickets.
Australia u19 266/6 (Hugh Weibgen 120, Harry Dixon 53, Oliver Peake 25*; Theo Wylie 4/42); England u19 104 (Charlie Allison 26, Ben McKinney 22; Callum Vidler 4/29, Raf MacMillan 3/16, Tom Straker 2/16). Austalia won by 110 runs (DLS Method).
16th Place Playoffs
Scotland u19 251/6 (Bahadar Esakhiel 76*, Jamie Dunk 76, Uzair Ahmad 36, Owen Gould 35; Peter-Daniel Blignaut 2/42, Zacheo van Vuuren 2/72); Namibia u19 248/6 (Zacheo van Vuuren 86, Johannes Visagie 69, Alexander Busing-Volschenk 32, Extras 26, Peter-Daniel Blignaut 20*; Ibrahim Faisal 3/58, Qasim Khan 2/49). Scotland u19 won by three runs.
United States of America u19 148 (Prannav Chettipalayam 33, Utkarsh Srivastava 30, Extras 22; Allah Mohammad Ghanzanfar 3/30, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil 2/19, Faridoon Dawoodzai 2/30); Afghanistan u19 151/7 (Naseer Khan Maroofkhil 39, Rahimullah Zurmati 37*, Arab Gul 23*, Jamshid Zadran 23; Ateendra Subramanian 3/20, Arya Garg 2/33). Afghanistan u19 won by three wickets.
