Maphaka ready for the fight Down Under

THERE were two moments in the opening T20I in Darwin that opened the door to the heart that burns within Kwena Maphaka.

- ZAAHIER ADAMS

The fact that the 19-year-old could bowl fast is well-documented. He has shown that skill countless times, and once again when he uprooted Mitchell Owen’s off-stump with his fourth ball on Australian soil before going to claim a record-breaking 4/20.

But this was a different contest altogether when the teenager opted to head straight into a bare-knuckle contest with the 1.96m Australian slugger Tim David.

“There was a bouncer earlier in the over that was wide, and so the second ball was a little bit shorter. It was around chest height, and he went to the umpire and he was asking about it,” Maphaka said of the incident.

“I just told him to let the umpires deal with umpiring the game and he must focus on batting.”