Same arm, different art: The contrast and collaboration of Mlaba and Maharaj

Nonkululeko Mlaba and Keshav Maharaj were once left-arm seamers who made it to the top, and stayed there, as finger spinners. They are from Durban and they still play for the Dolphins when they're not in national colours. The similarities end there.

Maharaj is more than 10 years older than Mlaba and arrived on the international scene, at the WACA in November 2016, as a Test bowler. He played seven of his 62 matches in the format before he was given a crack in an ODI. Mlaba earned eight ODI and 18 T20I caps before she turned out in the first of her four Tests — South Africa's only Tests during her career — in Taunton in June 2022.

Mlaba sparkles with a smile that outshines even the brightest floodlights. Maharaj sparks with a singularly fiery competitiveness.

Mlaba is about flight and flutter and flummoxing batters with turn. Maharaj is about subtle variations of pace and angle whose intent is best gleaned from his field placings.

Maharaj campaigns for teams to deploy as much spin as possible, and he sees a strong argument for doing so in Mlaba.

"We're both left-arm orthodox bowlers, but our skill sets are very different," Maharaj told Cricbuzz. "Why can't two left-arm spinners play in the same side? The reason people always give is because they do the same thing. No. Everyone bowls differently."

Mlaba is also an activist — for a more professional women's game in South Africa. She told Cricbuzz: "The men have the SA20. We're fighting to have that as well."

She thinks that could make a difference for a side who reached all three of the World Cup finals played, in both formats, from October 2024 to November 2025 without once claiming the trophy.

"There's a gap between teams like India, Australia, England and us," Mlaba said. "If we can have our own league, we might close it. At World Cups we make it to finals. But then, in the final, it's like we don't know what we're doing. Maybe that will change if we get our own league and get used to high pressure situations."

Mlaba is of the opinion that women's cricket in South Africa is moving in the right direction

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But she is relieved she hasn't tried to forge a career in South Africa's most popular but also its most ailing major sport: "When I compare cricket and football, we're doing better. At least we get promoted. It feels like women's football doesn't get marketed."

She can see the progress made by women's cricket in her almost seven years as an international player: "We've come a long way to the point that, when we're playing at home, a lot of people come and support us. Before, people weren't willing to buy tickets to watch women's cricket. CSA would give away tickets to school kids. Now people buy them. We're going in the right direction."

Direction is the key word. Mlaba turns the ball more than any leading spinner in the country, Maharaj included. And, gallingly for anyone who knows how difficult it is to tweak a cricket ball off the straight, she doesn't struggle to do so.

"I don't really focus on turning the ball," Mlaba told Cricbuzz. "From day one, I've turned it. It's something I've never had to work on. It happens naturally. My main focus is to make sure I get the line and length correct."

So there must be plenty to talk about when Maharaj and Mlaba meet, which they do informally in an ongoing symbiotically valuable arrangement.

"We learn from each other," Mlaba said. "Because as much as we do the same thing there are things I do that he doesn't. We're sharing information. Whenever we see each other we chat about cricket. If not cricket, then life in general."

Maharaj concurred: "As much as I've helped her, she's helped me with strategic thinking and just seeing what she does differently to me. But even though we're different bowlers we can still bounce ideas off each other."

That relationship led to Maharaj serving as a consultant for South Africa's home T20I series against India in April. Again, the advantages went both ways.

"The value and knowledge of the women's team is underestimated. Spending time with them opened my eyes to a lot of things. As much as I've tried to help them, I know I've benefited significantly from them."

Put two fast bowlers in a dugout together and you will likely get a bragging contest about bouncers and broken bats. Put two spinners in the same dugout and ideas flow back and forth. For all the similarities and differences between Mlaba and Maharaj, that remains true.