Maphaka and Luus show India pace is pace yaar!

There is a lot that coaches can help you learn as a pacer. They can help you practice how to hit a line and length, how to bowl in different phases of the game, or how to penetrate the batter’s defence. However, pace is something that can’t be taught. It is natural to a large degree and makes all the difference. 

That difference was visible when the South African pacers crushed India’s top order into smithereens at the U19 World Cup Semi-final in Benoni. 

Indian pacers Raj Limbani and Naman Tiwari bowled much fuller in the first ten overs, looking to swing the ball. Meanwhile, Kwena Maphaka and Tristan Luus bowled not only at a shorter distance but also at a very high pace. The effect was instant. By the time India finished the 12th over of their chase, their top four batters were warming the seats in the dugout. 

Maphaka was the one who began the onslaught from South Africa, and he didn’t need a warm-up delivery to do that. His very first delivery was nearly unplayable. Left-handed Adarsh Singh tried to jump and defend the left-arm pacer, but he only managed to clip it to his gloves. Lhuan-dre Pretorius did the rest. 

That one delivery alone was enough to tell you why Kwena Maphaka is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament (18 scalps before this game). His left arm angle combines with the pace, bounce, and accuracy he has developed in the last two years since he played the 2022 U-19 World Cup. 

From the other end, Luus (pronounced ‘lees’) was also breathing fire. The right-arm pacer kept hitting the short-of-a-length area, angling into the right-handers and troubling them with his extra bounce. Then, there was the extra zip he was extracting from the pitch that aided his cause further. Even an agile batter like Musheer Khan could do nothing about that and returned meekly to the pavilion. Arshin Kulkarni also followed the same pattern of dismissal. 

The next scalp for Luus showed that he not only has the skill but also the mental strength to stay in the game. 

Both Luus and Maphaka hadn’t allowed the Indian batters any breathing space until then, so Priyanshu Moliya came and, after seeing a few balls, hit a crisp boundary on the leg side against a short ball. Luus bowled the next one full and wide of the off stump, asking the batter to play a big drive. The batter obliged, but Moliya just edged it to the keeper. 

Pace, bounce, smarts - Luus had it all in that spell. 

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Both Luus and Maphaka showed today that 'pace is pace yaar!' and why South Africa have always produced great pace bowlers. Kagiso Rabada’s scintillating campaign in the 2014 edition is still fresh in memory. And guess what? Maphaka is from the same school as Rabada - St. Stithians in Johannesburg. 

Maphaka looks primed to repeat Rabada's success as he moves from junior to senior cricket. Paarl Royals already contracted him in the SA20, and he has made his debut for the Lions in South Africa’s domestic first-class tournament. He has even played for South Africa A. 

Meanwhile, Luus might not have had the laurels that prodigious Maphaka has assembled in his kitty, but he looks primed for success. 

The Proteas Pace factory will not stop production anytime soon.