Maphaka, Yusuf waiting in the wings as Proteas bowling stocks look rosy in defence of World Test Championship title
Kwena Maphaka, the youngest Proteas Test cricketer, celebrating his first wicket after dismissing Pakistan's Babar Azam. Photo: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
THE World Test Championship final at Lord's last week was once again a Proteas fast-bowler exhibition as Kagiso Rabada led from the front, returning a nine-wicket haul to help South Africa claim all 20 Australian wickets.
Going into the London encounter, there were a lot of questions with regards to Rabada's ability to stand up from the drug scandal he faced leading up to the match, and boy did the 30-year-old silence his doubters against the No 1-ranked Aussies.
He took five wickets in the first innings, his 17th Test fifer, and followed with a four-for in the second as he narrowly missed out on what would've been a great 10-for at the Home of Cricket.
In the process, Rabada broke Allan Donald's Test record (330) to move to fourth on the Proteas all-time leading wicket-takers' list on 336, behind only Makhaya Ntini (390), Shaun Pollock (421) and Dale Steyn (439).
At the opposite end, the 2.06m-tall Marco Jansen fired his thunderbolts as the lanky left-armer took key wickets in the final.
Lungi Ngidi, having been backed ahead of Dane Paterson and Corbin Bosch despite having last played Test cricket in August, delivered the wickets of Steve Smith, Beau Webster and Pat Cummins in the third innings of the match, setting up the victory for the Proteas.
Apart from the five quicks mentioned above, the question then becomes, if there are quality reserves, when it is time to rest the regulars?
South Africa have an abundance of fast bowlers who are neck-and-neck with the regular quicks, including the likes of Anrich Nortjé, Gerald Coetzee and Nandré Burger, who were not involved at Lord's for a host of different reasons.
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Nortjé, having not played the entire cycle, was not considered, while Coetzee and Burger were returning from injuries.
All three can bowl 150km/h-plus, and all have Test caps under the belt, which then gives South Africa options going into the defence of their World Test Championship title.
Moreover, the Proteas have rising star Kwena Maphaka lurking in the fringes of the Test-bowling unit.
The 19-year-old left-arm quick has a high ceiling, and had a taste of the longer format when he earned a debut during the New Year's Test at Newlands last summer.
Lions fast bowler Codi Yusuf, having had a stellar CSA Four-Day competition, and now with county experience under his belt, is also competing for a Test spot.
Maphaka and Yusuf have been included in the Proteas squad for the two-match series against Zimbabwe, which is set to get underway next week in Bulawayo.
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