South Africa’s fast bowling department has suffered another significant setback as 20-year-old left-arm pacer Kwena Maphaka was ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against Australia after sustaining a right hamstring injury during training.
Maphaka, who recently returned to the ODI setup after over a year and featured in two matches against Namibia, was gearing up to face Australia before the injury occurred. Cricket South Africa has named Lizaad Williams as his replacement in the squad.
Maphaka becomes the latest addition to a growing list of injured Proteas pacers sidelined with hamstring issues, joining Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, and Lungi Ngidi. Earlier, Duanne Jansen was called up to replace Baartman, while Nqaba Peter / Nqobani Mokoena entered as Ngidi’s replacement. With Gerald Coetzee having been inactive since November 2023, Williams—who has played eight ODIs since his 2021 debut—will lead an inexperienced pace attack alongside Jansen and Mokoena, who have just four ODI appearances between them. The three-match ODI series against Australia is scheduled to begin on September 24, 2026, in Durban, followed by matches on September 27 and September 30.
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Reported by Sports deak • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
