Follow Us150, 83, 57 and now 88, Matthew Breetzke has continued a raging start in his ODI career, with a fourth consecutive fifty-plus score, this time against Australia in the second ODI on August 22 (Friday).
Before today, Breeztke already held the record for the most runs on an ODI debut, when he smashed 150 against New Zealand in Lahore, surpassing Desmond Haynes’s record 148. The right-handed batter didn’t stop his run there either, smashing an 83 in his next appearance against Pakistan.
After not playing a single ODI in the six months due to the Proteas’ squad strength, Breetzke returned with a sublime half-century in the first ODI against Australia. Now, he’s carried forward that legacy with an 88, making it his fourth consecutive fifty-plus score in ODI cricket.
Not just that, the youngster has also now scored the most runs in an ODI career after the first five games despite only playing four, showing how crazy his purple patch is in the 50-over format. The South African broke Netherlands’ Tom Cooper’s record, with the Dutchman having scored 374 runs in his first five ODIs.
Matthew Breetzke - 378 runs (in 4 games)*
Tom Cooper - 374 runs
Allan Lamb - 328 runs
Temba Bavuma - 309 runs
Phil Salt - 303 runs
Breetzke also levelled former Indian opener Navjot Singh Sidhu and Tom Cooper as the only batter to have four 50+ scores after five ODIs. If the right-hander does get to the 50-run mark again in the third ODI, he will become the only player in ODI history to have five 50+ scores in the first five ODIs.
Matthew Breetzke - 4* (in 4 games)
Navjot Singh Sidhu - 4
Tom Cooper - 4
Mohammad Shahzad - 3
Anshuman Rath - 3