Zaahier Adams
Wherever Mihlali Mpongwana goes, he is followed by bountiful optimism. It helps that he is tall, affable, strong, smart and ambitious, showing the potential to be a prized national asset for the next decade.
Mpongwana hits the ball long and hard, bowls tidy medium pace, and has hands the size of buckets; these assets could still earn him a tidy pay cheque in the future. But right now, the 24-year-old does not want to look too far ahead. He is simply trying to figure out the mechanics of styling his game for each format.
“When people ask me what am I good at, I kind of hesitate because it's different for different formats,” Mpongwana, who has previously been included in the Proteas Test and ODI squads, exclusively told Independent Media.
“I can’t run away from that. The stats speak for themselves,”
“In one-day cricket, they say a certain thing, but when it comes to red-ball and T20 cricket, the ball speaks more than the batting. I always struggle to answer that question: ball or bat?”
Mpongwana’s maiden call-up to the Proteas T20I squad for the four-match series against India starting at Kingsmead on Friday is based on his outstanding bowling performances in the recent CSA T20 Challenge. Necessity often provides opportunity, and this was certainly evident in Mpongwana’s case when Western Province found themselves without regular opening bowlers Nandre Burger (injured), Dane Paterson (Proteas Test duty) and Wayne Parnell (injured).
From being a change bowler who operated with the comfort of the fielding restrictions being lifted after the Powerplay, Mpongwana was suddenly elevated to take the new ball with captain Beuran Hendricks. He responded to the challenge superbly, finishing the tournament in joint third place on the national wicket-takers list with 12 scalps at an average of 14.08. Even more pertinently, Mpongwana struck regularly in the Powerplay, with half of his victims accounted for in the first six overs.
“I was given the responsibility of bowling in the Powerplay, which is something I never previously saw myself doing,” he said.
“I’ve made a huge improvement. I’ve tried to work on my T20 game. It just showed during this T20 competition that there’s still more that needs to be done, but I feel like I’ve improved big time, especially from the bowling side.”
It is likely that Mpongwana will be challenged for a spot in the Proteas T20I starting XI by another highly promising young all-rounder earmarked for bigger and better things. Andile Simelane also represents the future that Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter envisions; it just so happens that he too claimed 12 wickets in the recently concluded CSA T20 Challenge.
Mpongwana has embraced the friendly rivalry.
“The funny thing is that he is one of my closest friends. We spent the last year at the National Academy. We do similar things,” he said.
“I don’t see it as competition. Maybe it's because of my nature. I do whatever I need to take care of myself. Obviously, if a competitor does well, you also want to do well. That’s only natural. But I try to focus on my own game.”
Full Proteas T20I squad against India: Aiden Markram (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Patrick Kruger, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla (3rd and 4th T20Is), Tristan Stubbs.