South African opener Matthew Breetzke made history on Monday by becoming the first cricketer from his country to score 150 on his One-Day International (ODI) debut during the tri-nation series match against New Zealand.
Breetzke, who is not part of South Africa’s squad for this month’s Champions Trophy, played a stellar knock of 150 off 148 balls, surpassing the long-standing record of 148 set by West Indies batter Desmond Haynes against Australia in 1978.
He was one of four South African players making their ODI debuts in the match, while seven additional players are set to join the squad in Pakistan later this week for the Champions Trophy.
South Africa, buoyed by Breetzke’s outstanding performance, posted a total of 304-6 after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss for the second consecutive time and opted to field first.
After losing captain Temba Bavuma (20) within the powerplay, the 26-year-old Breetzke built a crucial 93-run partnership with Jason Smith (41), another batter left out of the Champions Trophy squad. He then accelerated the scoring with aggressive strokes, particularly on the off side, and put on a further 131 runs alongside Wiaan Mulder, who contributed 64 off 60 balls.
Breetzke reached his century in 128 balls with a square-cut boundary off fast bowler Will O’Rourke, then took just 20 more deliveries to break Haynes’ 47-year record. His innings also made him the fourth South African to score a century on ODI debut, joining Colin Ingram, Bavuma, and Reeza Hendricks.
His remarkable innings ended when he misjudged a slower ball from Matt Henry and was caught at mid-off, having struck 11 boundaries and five sixes.
Among New Zealand’s bowlers, O’Rourke (2-72) and Henry (2-59) claimed two wickets each. Ben Sears, however, struggled, conceding 20 runs in a single over to Breetzke and finishing with figures of 0-65.
New Zealand made one enforced change, with Devon Conway replacing opening batter Rachin Ravindra. Ravindra suffered a forehead injury while fielding in New Zealand’s commanding 78-run victory against Pakistan on Saturday and was rested for this game.
He was struck on the head after misjudging a catch from Khushdil Shah at deep mid-wicket, a chance that appeared routine but resulted in an unfortunate injury.