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Matthew Breetzke scored his fourth consecutive half-century at the start of his ODI career, becoming the first batter to do so in the format.
South Africa’s batting stocks in the white ball game continue to grow stronger and stronger. The latest in a long line of powerful attacking batters has come along in the form of Matthew Breetzke, who scored a powerful 88(78) during the second ODI between South Africa and Australia.

 Matthew Breetzke in action during his innings of 88 against Australia.(AFP)
Coming in to bat at number four after stand-in captain Aiden Markram had opted to bat first at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, Breetzke created history as he became the first batter in ODI history to start off his career with four consecutive scores of 50+.

The South African player already holds a world record to his name, having become the player with the highest score on ODI debut when he racked up 150 in his first match against New Zealand in Lahore.

Breetzke’s innings coming in at number four saw him score 8 boundaries and also add two sixes, before he was finally bounced out by Nathan Ellis just short of his century. In his young career so far, the 26-year-old has also shown versatility. His debut 150 came opening the batting, while his second half-century in that series, in which he scored 83, came batting at number three.

Matthew Breetzke’s first four ODI matches so far:
150(148) vs New Zealand, Lahore

57(56) vs Australia, Cairns

88(78) vs Australia, Mackay

While Navjot Singh Sidhu had started off his career with four consecutive 50s as well, those came across 5 matches, while Breetzke has played only 4 ODIs and scored half-centuries in each. By either metric, a 48-year-old record broken.

During this series, Breetzke has batted at number four, and followed up his 57 in Cairns with a strong showing here. The exciting batter earned himself an IPL contract and made his debut for Lucknow Super Giants in this year’s tournament. He has now established himself as a floating option to cover positions up and down the Protean order, and might have brought himself strongly into the picture for the home World Cup in 2027.

Breetzke's innings helped stabilise the innings for the Proteas after a pair of early wickets, with Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton both falling early on in the powerplay. Breetzke stitched together handy partnerships with both Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs, but might feel he left some runs on the board after getting set.

Elsewhere, southpaw batter Tony de Zorzi came in to bat at number three while captain Temba Bavuma was being rested with a tight hamstring. However, de Zorzi didn’t do himself any favours in winning back a position, scoring only 38. De Zorzi was South Africa’s top order option to replace Quinton de Kock, but a few lean performances have meant that he has lost his position to the likes of Breetzke and Ryan Rickelton.

Lower down the order, Tristan Stubbs brought up his half-century, but will shoulder the burden through the second portion of the innings as he loses partners at the other end.