UNREAL record!! Matthew Breetzke becomes first ever cricketer to...
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Matthew Breetzke, the young South African batter, has made a commanding arrival in One-day cricket with four consecutive half-centuries across the first four games he has played for South Africa in international cricket.
South Africa is currently playing the white-ball series in Australia, and they are once again rebuilding their powerful and impactful batting order after the sudden retirement as well as dip in form of former cricketers. They have released the likes of David Miller, while Heinrich Klaasen and Quinton de Kock have announced their retirement.
One of the Proteas batters who has been making the headlines ever since his debut for South Africa is none other than right-handed batter Matthew Breetzke, who already holds the world record for having scored a stunning 150+ on his ODI debut.
Matthew Breetzke enters the record books with a unique world record in ODIs
Breetzke entered the record books in his debut game for South Africa, as he became the player with the highest score in ODIs on debut. He racked up 150 in his first match against New Zealand, which was played in the tri-series in Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy this year.
However, his new record includes Matthew Breetzke, who has scored four consecutive half-centuries in the four matches he has played for South Africa. In the ongoing series against Australia, this 88 (78) was his second consecutive fifty in the series.
Matthew Breetzke's first four ODI matches in his career:
150(148) vs New Zealand, Lahore
83(84) vs Pakistan, Karachi
57(56) vs Australia, Cairns
88(78) vs Australia, Mackay
Navjot Singh Sidhu and Kepler Wessels have similar stats, but no world record
Former Indian veteran Navjot Singh Sidhu has made a similar start to his career, scoring 4 ODI half-centuries; however, his 50s came across 5 matches, while Breetzke has emerged as the first player with 4 half-centuries in the very first 4 games after his ODI debut.
On the other hand, former South African veteran Kepler Wessels, regarded as one of the most famous players to have switched sides in cricket history, also scored four fifties in his first four matches for South Africa, but it was only after he had already represented Australia 54 times in the format.
Matthew Breetzke, unlike the above-mentioned two, has scored a maiden hundred in the first match and then followed it with 3 consecutive 50+ scores, which makes him the first batter with the record.
Bretzkee stabilised South Africa's innings after the fall of early wickets in the second ODI
Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton were dismissed by Xavier Bartlett, while Matthew Breetzke came into bat at no. 4 for South Africa.
He stabilised the innings alongside Tony de Zorzi, the left-handed no. 3 who replaced skipper Temba Bavuma in the squad, since the skipper missed the game due to a pulled hamstring. His crucial partnerships alongside Zorzi and the middle-order batter Tristan Stubbs helped South Africa seek a respectable total.
Matthew Breetzke's 88-run innings fell short of a hundred as he was bounced out by Nathan Ellis just 12 runs short of his second ODI hundred. The batter has also shown tremendous flexibility and adaptability to bat across different batting positions for South Africa.
Tagged:
South Africa National Cricket Team Australia National Cricket Team Matthew Breetzke South Africa Vs Australia Kepler Wessels Navjot Singh Sidhu Aiden Markram Tony de Zorzi
