Ryan Rickelton has been left in awe of teen bowling sensation Kwena Maphaka following his sensational bowling spell in the first T20I against Australia. The left-arm speedster ran through the Australian batting as he registered his best ever figures in T20Is.
Mapahaka dismissed Mitchell Owen in the seventh over and got the prized scalp of Tim David (83 off 52) in the 19th over to stop Australia from crossing the 180-run mark. The 19-year-old also had a verbal exchange with the Australian batter. Following his remarkable performance, Rickelton hailed Maphaka’s fiery character and said that it was cool to see a young guy stand up to Australia in their own backyard.
“He is quite a fiery character. But he is very relaxed, very quiet in the change room. He had a bit of a go at Tim (David) there, but he is very competitive. He backs his ability, which is great. It is cool to see a young guy stand up to Australia in their backyard. It is very promising for South African cricket,” Rickelton was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“He is quite a relaxed guy in the change room, but when he crosses that line, he has got a bit of white-line fever, which is quite exciting for us,” concluded Rickelton.
Maphaka finished with figures of 4/20 in four overs and was well-supported by Kagiso Rabada (2/29) who topped Australia’s top order. Courtesy of their performance, Australia got all out for 178 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, South Africa were restricted to 161/9 in their 20 overs as Ben Dwarshius (3/26) and Josh Hazlewood (3/27) scalped three wickets each.
Rickelton was the top scorer for the visitors with his innings of 71 (55) as he whacked five fours and a six. Despite his innings, South Africa fell short of their target and lost the match by 17 runs. The Aiden Markram-led side will be eager to make a comeback in the second T20I, scheduled to be played on Tuesday, August 12 at Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin.
– Ends