by Kwena Maphaka made headlines despite South Africa losing the first T20I against Australia in Darwin, as the young speedster etched his name into record books with figures of 4/20. Playing just his eighth T20I, following his debut last year, Maphaka’s four wickets made him the youngest pacer with a four-fer in T20Is among the full member nations.
Opting to bowl first, South Africa had the best possible start with four wickets – Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green – inside the powerplay. Maphaka’s first came in the form of Mitchell Owen when the 19-year-old cleaned up the left-hander.
The left-arm pacer then took the wickets of Ben Dwarshuis and dangerous-looking Tim David and followed it up with by dismissing Adam Zampa. In the process, Maphaka, at 19 years and 124 days, overtook fellow South African Wayne Parnell for the record.
Parnell was 19 years and 318 days old when he claimed a four-fer against the West Indies in 2009. Courtesy Maphaka’s fiery spell, South Africa bowled out Australia for the first time in T20Is.
Kwena Maphaka – All you need to know
Maphaka first came into limelight when he bagged the Player of the Series in the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2024. In the tournament, Maphaka took 21 wickets including three five-wicket hauls. In fact, he also became first player at 17 years to take three fifers at a single edition of the tournament. He missed the tournament record set by Bangladesh’s Enamul Haque Jr in 2014 by one wicket.
Following his standout performance in the U-19 World Cup, Maphaka caught the eyes of Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) the same year. In IPL 2025, Maphaka found a new home at Rajasthan Royals. He also played for Paarl Royals in SA20.
Maphaka also became the youngest South African to play an international game when he made his T20I debut in 2024 against West Indies at the age of 18 years and 137 days. He was recently crowned the T20 Challenge Player of the Season at the CSA Awards 2024-25.