South Africa have named two uncapped players in their T20I squad for the tour of West Indies. Here is all you need to know about Kwena Maphaka and Jason Smith.

South Africa have named two uncapped players in their T20I squad for the tour of West Indies. Here is all you need to know about Kwena Maphaka and Jason Smith.

Several of South Africa's T20 regulars, including members of the squad which made it to the 2024 T20 World Cup final, have been left out of the squad to tour West Indies. Some have been rested, while others are thought to have been excluded due to schedule clashes with the Caribbean Premier League.

This has given the Proteas the chance to have a look at a few newer players in the national team set-up. Donovan Ferreira, Ottneil Baartman and Patrick Kruger could get a few more international games under their belt, and two uncapped players – Kwena Maphaka and Jason Smith – will be looking to make their presence felt.

Is Kwena Maphaka South Africa's next great pace bowler?

In 2022, left-arm pacer Kwena Maphaka travelled with the South African team for the Men's U19 World Cup in the Caribbean, at the age of 15. He played one group stage match against Uganda as well as the 5th and 7th-placed playoffs versus Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, picking up a total of seven wickets.

If those were the green shoots of his development, Maphaka blossomed at the U19 World Cup in 2024. Now the undisputed leader of South Africa's U19 attack, he finished with an astonishing 21 wickets in the tournament, earning the Player of the Tournament award as the Proteas made it to the semi-final.

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With the ability to crank up the pace even at this young age, he has also showcased immaculate understanding of his own strengths and limitations, not unlike another great South African seamer in Kagiso Rabada.

Maphaka has just abour dipped his toes into senior cricket, with just two first-class and List A matches each, and six T20s under his belt. His first IPL season earlier this year was much-anticipated but did not go to plan, with just one wicket in two matches. For Gauteng in domestic cricket, his four matches have yielded seven wickets.

He may not have much of a record, but Maphaka's raw talent is certainly worth a gamble for South Africa. He has time on his side, and blooding him in at the start of a new T20 World Cup cycle could be the perfect time to give him a go.

Grit and grind the way for Jason Smith  

Like Maphaka, Jason Smith also represented South Africa at the U19 level – only this was a decade ago. In sharp contrast to his uncapped squad-mate, Smith is no greenhorn. In fact, while Maphaka has always looked a given to play for South Africa at some point, there is real doubt over whether Smith would make a first-choice squad.

There can be no doubting that he has put in the effort, though. Now 29 years old, Smith has been a regular on the South African domestic circuit for nearly 10 years now. He has represented three different first-class teams – Western Province, Cape Cobras and KwaZulu-Natal Coastal – apart from the South Africa 'A' side.

 

 

Primarily a batter, Smith made the South African squad on the back of his campaign in the most recent edition of the CSA T20 Challenge. Batting in the middle-order for KwaZulu-Natal, he finished with a superb tally of 291 runs at an average north of 40, and a strike rate of 133. In the final, he struck 51 off 33 balls to help his side post 165.

He has also developed his medium-pace bowling over the years to become a more than handy profile in T20 cricket. A tally of 106 first-class wickets is testament to Smith's ability, suggesting he may be slightly underused in the shortest format. If he manages to make an impact in the Caribbean, he could go on to establish himself as a useful all-rounder for the Proteas.

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