Taking it slow as important as bowling fast for Mokoena

A picture of Nqobani Mokoena was shown on the Wanderers big screen alongside Faf du Plessis to highlight what the SA20 organisers felt was a tasty “matchup to watch” during last Thursday’s fixture at the Bullring.

Representing the Paarl Royals, it was 19-year-old Mokoena’s first visit to the Wanderers.

Two weeks ago, aside from local cricket aficionados, few would have known who Mokoena was. Now, here he was, staring at himself next to the former Proteas captain — with their individual contest forecast as a highlight.

Du Plessis dominated Mokoena, scoring 28 runs off the 12 balls he faced from the right-arm fast bowler, which included smashing him for five fours and a six. However, the really important bit for Mokoena was that despite that battering, he never wilted.

He looked anguished, perhaps felt embarrassed, but he never let it distract from the job he had to do for the Royals.

Delightful slower ball

English veteran James Vince was deceived by a delightful slower ball when Mokoena returned for his third over, becoming the teenager’s eighth wicket in this season’s SA20.

Ahead of yesterday’s match the Royals played against Pretoria Capitals at Boland Park, Mokoena also counted Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs among his victims. “I’m not surprised,” said Mornantau Hayward, director of cricket at Northwood High School, which Mokoena attended.

“I really rated Mokoena a lot. I think he got bored with the challenges of bowling against schoolboys. He was just too quick for them, a lot of our guys were scared to face him. Sometimes, for those kinds of kids, it’s difficult to come back to the school standard.”

Hayward, who was somewhat of a wild child himself, can relate to what Mokoena, already capable of bowling over 140km/h, experienced as a junior.

The transition to the professional level was not without its challenges. The coaches at the KZN Dolphins, which handed him a contract, made him aware that pace alone wasn’t enough to succeed in the provincial ranks.

Cricket conversations

“Once he came into our space, we spent a lot of time having ‘cricket conversations’,” said the Dolphins’ head coach Quinton Friend.

Not that Mokoena always listened. However, Friend, also a seamer in his playing days, knew he had to be patient. “You have extra pace, so you bowl more bouncers than you should; you’re bowling back of length when you should be bowling fuller ... guys that have raw pace, you have to allow them to bowl with freedom,” he said.

“There’s no reason, at 19 years old, to try and change that. You want them to bowl quick. That’s a skill set you don’t want to lose. With time, that will get better; the more they play, the better they will come to understand that the margin of error is small.”

And as he showed against Vince with that slower ball, he has more strings to his bow. It pleased Hayward, who has seen a change in Mokoena’s personality. “He’s started to become more mature since leaving school. The Mokoena we see now is an amazing Mokoena and it is so lekker to see,” he said.

“He is vibey … he made a massive change in the last six months. At school he was quite a quiet boy, and all of a sudden he’s come out of his skin; he’s started having conversations, he greets people, and it is just nice to see a different person. I’m so chuffed to see ‘Moks’ do so well.”

It’s just the start

Hayward and Friend both issued a warning. Mokoena’s excellent start in the SA20 has quickly raised his profile, and as the Wanderers scoreboard last week demonstrated, he has become a face for what this competition is all about for young cricketers.

“But it’s the first season, it’s just the start,” Hayward said.

Other rookies, Dewald Brevis in the SA20’s first season and Lhuan-dre Pretorius last year, have both battled with being the new young star. And Mokoena,who’s played only two first-class matches, has further development to undergo at the provincial level.

The last fortnight has been fun, however. He’s made headlines on a few Indian websites, has talked about being inspired by Northwood’s former pupils Shaun Pollock and Keshav Maharaj — who’ve both graduated with great success to the highest stage —and what IPL team he’d like to represent in the future.

Unlike his bowling, however, Friend would like to see that part of his career slow down. “He is one for the future, but I don’t think we have to push him too early. Allow him time to find his feet and get more consistent. But he lives for cricket. He is super passionate.”