What is school for, if not to prepare you for your career? What if your career needs you to spend time outside of school? What if there’s a massive World Cup during your final year in high school?
I understand that the body of the text I’m about to lay out is going to be strongly argued against by South Africans. A nation with our unemployment rate has an obsession, some would say an unhealthy one, with making sure that a child finishes school. I get it. But, to quote the Wu-Tang Clan, “Scared Money don’t make money.”
So, with that said – Kwena Maphaka needs to be selected for the World T20 in the United States and the Caribbean. It’s honestly a no-brainer. Forget the fact that he had the greatest U19 Cricket World Cup in the history of the tournament, proving to be a terror the likes of which youth cricket has never seen before. Forget the often-politicized need for Cricket South Africa to find a “black hero”. The truth is, Maphaka is tied for second in the wicket-taking charts. He’s going at under 6.5 to the over in his first serious domestic competition. Even in games where he bowled alongside the great Kagiso Rabada, he has looked every bit his equal, with Rabada conceding runs at an economy rate of 6.87 compared to Maphaka’s 6.46. Last night, Maphaka showed that he has nerves of steel to go along with all the other tools in his armory, bowling the super over in the Central Lions’ victory over the Western Province.
I understand that the number one counter-argument for selecting him seems to be that he still has school. Firstly, this is not a strong counter unless Maphaka is NOT planning to become a professional cricketer. It is true that one probably does need to have something to fall back on, especially in the South African context, but let’s be serious for a minute here; at the moment, school is getting in the way of his actual career. Maphaka attends St. Stithians, one of the most prestigious schools in the country, as well as being Rabada’s alma mater. I feel confident in saying that between Maphaka and the school, they could figure out a way for him to catch up. Heck, I think he could even write his matric exams in 2025 if this is affecting people this much.
I will concede, though, that it would be unfair to his future prospects to select Maphaka for the tournament to just carry drinks. I would definitely agree with the viewpoint that he should not just be selected for the “experience”, but to that end, it wouldn’t just be “for the experience”. With Lungi Ngidi injured, and Anrich Nortje having bowled eight overs in the last six months, there is a very real chance that South Africa is going to need a healthy fourth seamer to take to the World T20. Assuming that Gerald Coetzee (who is also coming off an injury), Rabada, and Marco Jansen get through the IPL unscathed, there is still a slot open for a pace bowler of some sort. Maphaka is the form bowler in the CSA T20 Challenge, and, being a left-arm pace bowler, he does provide that most exotic and desirable of traits: variety.
Of course, one could argue that Nandre Burger provides the same, but Burger has played one T20 International, so it’s not as if his experience at the next level is that much greater, and let’s be real, it’s not the sexy choice. Picking Maphaka is the forward-thinking choice.
Also, for those of you still clutching your pearls at the idea of a young man missing school time to play big boy cricket, he’d only lose out on 10 school days if he played the entire tournament, most of which would be during mid-years when he wouldn’t be going to school every day anyway. Kids miss more days of school faking being sick.
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