CRICKET POLL

On the street, Kwena Maphaka is one among millions of fresh-faced, loose-limbed, clear-eyed, confident 18-year-old South Africans. On the field, he is part of a suddenly endangered species.

Friday's news that Ottneil Baartman had been ruled out of the third ODI against Pakistan at the Wanderers on Sunday brings to seven the number of bowlers who might be in South Africa's squads but are unavailable because of injuries. The others are Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj.

Those aren't players most teams could afford to lose with a Test series against Pakistan looming that, should the South Africans win at least one of the two matches, would book their berth in the WTC final at Lord's in June.

Even so, other options are available. They always are in South Africa, who have debuted 10 bowlers across the formats this summer alone. Besides, Mulder and Maharaj are in the Test squad pending recovery from a broken finger and torn hip flexor. The other chosen allrounders and bowlers are Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada and Dane Paterson. And Maphaka.

The latter was the player-of-the-tournament at the under-19 World Cup in South Africa in January and February for taking 21 wickets at 9.71 in six games. He became South Africa's youngest male senior international in a T20I against West Indies in Tarouba in August, aged 18 years and 137 days. He has played five T20Is with limited success, taking three wickets at an economy rate of 9.98. He made his ODI debut against Pakistan at Newlands on Thursday, and while he took 4/72 his economy rate of 7.32 made him the most expensive bowler in the match on either side.

But cricket cuts special slack for teenagers who touch or breach 150 kilometres an hour.

"He thrives in big moments and he'll keep getting better and better," Rob Walter told a press conference after Thursday's match. "To see the kind of skills he showed at the end of the innings - the back-of-the-hand slower ball that he hadn't bowled in the game to that point, and to figure out that that's the option and to back himself to go for it - is very exciting.

"We want to keep allowing him the space to grow and to flourish. There's an understanding that his performances may be inconsistent, but also that his growth is more important in the long-term picture of him being a matchwinner for South Africa."

Maphaka wasn't a winner on Thursday, when Pakistan soared to 329 and South Africa crashed to 248. But he was a thrill to watch nonetheless.

His first delivery, to Sayim Ayub, was a legside wide. He took his first wicket in his fifth over when he produced a short, sharp ball that was too quick for Ayub and had him caught at deep third. Two deliveries later, Mohammad Rizwan made the error of taking his eye off the ball as he tried to duck another bouncer. It crashed into the back of his helmet.

Maphaka ended his first spell of five overs with the decent figures of 1/19. But he went for 14 in his next over, the 34th, when Rizwan hit him for a hattrick of fours through square leg, extra cover and deep third. Rizwan hammered another boundary, through backward point, in his next over. But Maphaka followed that with a delivery on a length and on Rizwan's off stump. The resultant drive screamed back at the bowler. Somehow he untangled himself from the throes of his follow-through to take the catch at knee height, tumble forward and throw the ball up in loud triumph.

Honestly, the things these kids can do.

Kamran Ghulam and Shaheed Shah Afridi hammered another three fours - through deep third, midwicket and long-on - in Maphaka's ninth over, which also yielded 14 runs. In his last over, his slower ball fooled Ghulam into a catch at long-on. In walked Haris Rauf to launch Maphaka's next effort over long-on for six. Then Rauf slashed that back-of-the-hand slower delivery high to mid-off, where Ryan Rickelton juggled but held the catch. Then Abrar Ahmed ramped Maphaka for four. Two balls later, a legside wide confused Naseem Shah and Abrar and led to the latter's runout to complete the innings. Maphaka made no mistake taking the throw from Heinrich Klaasen and removing the bails. And all in front of a sold-out Newlands.

It isn't boring being Kwena Maphaka.

But it seems he is in the queue behind Bosch, who is uncapped in all formats, for a place in the XI for the first Test in Centurion on Thursday.

"Corbin Bosch adds so much to our attack," Shukri Conrad, who picked the squad and will decide on the XI, told a press conference on Monday. "On the Highveld we need pace in our attack, and Corbin provides that.

"[Centurion is] his home ground and he's in top form - he had a really good outing against the English Lions last week that I managed to catch a glimpse of.

"From when I last saw him, when he was at the academy with me a couple of years ago, he's matured nicely and turned into a really good cricketer; someone who, on the back of his domestic performances, will be a great addition to our squad."

Bosch was part of a South African Invitation XI who played England Lions at the Wally Wilson Oval in Cape Town from Tuesday to Thursday last week. It wasn't a competitive match - the locals had 13 players and the visitors 16. Bosch suffered a first-baller late on the first day, but took 3/20 bowling first-change on the second day. He made 33 off 45 in the second dig, and then claimed 1/21. In his three first-class matches this season, Bosch has scored 209 at 69.66 and taken 10 wickets at 22.20.

Bosch is 30 and in his eighth season of first-class cricket. After 50 innings he has 10 half-centuries, no hundreds, and an average of 40.46. He has one five-wicket haul and averages 36.75 with the ball. None of the numbers in these last two paragraphs is especially eye-catching, but Conrad has earned the right to be given his head.

Since he was appointed coach in January last year, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Ryan Rickelton, Mulder and Dane Paterson have all either made their debuts or come back in from the cold of being left out, and Temba Bavuma has been appointed Test captain. All have excelled.

It is entirely in the Conrad way of doing things to make his way to a suburban Cape Town cricket ground hosting a low-key midweek match to run his eye over certain players. Indeed, not for him the plush trapping of the Newlands president's suite on Thursday. He watched at least some of the match with the hoi polloi in the stands.

Doubtless Conrad, who was Maphaka's head coach at the 2022 under-19 World Cup, came away as excited by his performance as the rest of us. Unlike the rest of us, Conrad has a duty of care to his players; the youngsters in particular. Part of that responsibility means knowing who to select where and when.