Maphaka will make history as South Africa's youngest debutant

Kwena Maphaka was not yet born the first time South Africa played a Test against Pakistan at Newlands in January 2003. On Friday, he will take part in that match and become South Africa's youngest debutant at 18 years and 270 days.

Maphaka has played two ODIs and five T20Is, but only three first-class matches. He will make his test debut 11 days before finding out his results on his final high school exams.

His selection presents an interesting management challenge for Temba Bavuma, who told a press conference: “You want to allow him to be as free as possible. You want to allow him to continue to be the Kwena that he is, allow the exuberance of youth to come out. It’s just “Kwena comes in and plays as fast as possible”. It’s about making sure he stays who he is and allowing him to spread his wings.

“The rest of us played a lot of first-class cricket before we made our debut. We were able to fail, come back and find a solution. He's going to have to learn quickly. But I think he has the talent, and that will make his job easier.

“Given we have a series on the line, you don’t want to give an opportunity to a young guy without there being any consequences.”

Despite this, Maphaka will be helped by the fact that the match is a different type of dead rubber. The series remains alive after South Africa's two-wicket win at Centurion on Sunday, but the home side's victory sealed their place in the WTC final at Lord's in June. That said, Maphaka will not lack motivation.

Neither will Wiaan Mulder, who will want to pick up where he left off after breaking his finger in the Kingsmead Test against Sri Lanka last month. His return is no luck for Corbin Bosch, who lost his place despite scoring 4/63 and scoring 81 not out in the first innings on his Centurion debut.

But Bosch won't feel as aggrieved as Dane Paterson, who was left out despite taking 13 wickets in his last two Tests. He will give way to Maphaka.

The least questionable change was forced by Tony de Zorzi's withdrawal due to a thigh injury. This means Ryan Rickelton will be promoted to a starting spot.

Pakistan are apparently mulling over an unchanged XI, which would be a mistake. It's one thing to go in with all guns blazing at Centurion, another to do it in the more balanced conditions at Newlands – despite the aberration of last year's day-and-a-half Test against India .

Then again, Pakistan almost won at Centurion, where the visitors won just three times in 27 deciding Tests.

“We want to look at these performances as victories,” Shan Masood said of his team’s near miss on the Highveld. “Yes, we talk about the process; control what we can control. We cannot control the outcome.

“So while it was comforting to see a lot of good performances, you want to finish on the right side. The best teams do it because they're used to it. South Africa are the No.1 team as they have won six Tests on the trot. You don't just want to compete against the best, you want to win against the best.

When: January 3 to 7, 2025; 10:30 a.m. local time (8:30 a.m. GMT, 2 p.m. IST)

Or: Newlands, Le Cap

What to expect: Look down, not up. No rain was forecast for the duration of the match, but all eyes will be on the field given the most recent Test here – against India last January – went to 107 overs. Things can surely only get better. Although Temba Bavuma did not inspire confidence in his press conference on Thursday when he said: “I don't think I have the right to talk much about the wicket.”

Team news:

South Africa:

Ryan Rickelton will be moved up in the opening order. Wiaan Mulder will occupy third place. Kwena Maphaka will become South Africa's youngest debutant.

Confirmed XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka

Pakistan:

If the visitors do not name an unchanged XI, Noman Ali could replace Aamer Jamal.

Possible XI: Shan Masood (capitaine), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Noman Ali, Mohammad Abbas

What they said:

“The selection is always delicate. We can all sit here and pick three or four different teams. But what helps the guys is that level of safety and security. They know what their role is and what their place is. We all want to win for ourselves, for the team, for the country. And we all understand that whatever decisions are made, they are for the good of the team. – Temba Bavuma on changes in South Africa.

“I would like to take one last look at the field. This seems a little different from Centurion; less grass cover. South Africa have had the luxury of training earlier than us, so we'd like to take our time to see who the best possible XI is. – Shan Massoud on Pakistan selection thoughts.