By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa pace sensation Kwena Maphaka has been named the Player of the Tournament after the completion of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 on Sunday.
Maphaka was crowned the Player of the Tournament ahead of Ubaid Shah, Saumy Pandey, Musheer Khan, Jewel Andrew, Hugh Weibgen, Uday Saharan and teammate Steve Stolk.
The record-breaking South Africa pacer has been one of the standout quicks at the tournament, with his 21 scalps just one short of the tournament record set by Bangladesh’s Enamul Haque Jr in 2014.
Maphaka did claim a record of his own with the 17-year-old becoming the first player to collect a trio of five-wicket hauls at a single edition of the tournament.
“I put in a lot of work for this and it means a lot to come out and have a good tournament,” he said at the post-match ceremony.
“Unfortunately I couldn’t get the team through to the final, but I’ve been dreaming of this all my life.”
Maphaka joins an elite list of players who have been Player of the Tournament at the men’s event in the past.
At the last edition too, the award was won by a South African — Dewald Brevis, for a record-breaking tally of runs in the tournament.