Southampton: South Africa’s new opener Matthew Breetzke, who had scored a record-breaking 150 runs in his very first One-Day International (against New Zealand) in February but couldn’t see South Africa through to victory then, has now led his team to a 2-1 series win over England while setting a remarkable new world record — scoring 50-plus in his first five ODIs. Breetzke credited this achievement to his stint with England’s Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.
Inspired by Ravi Bopara’s innings
Breetzke has played the last two seasons of the T20 Blast, amassing a total of 863 runs for Northamptonshire. On September 3, Breetzke missed the Northamptonshire vs Surrey match but watched it on TV, where Ravi Bopara’s unbeaten 105 off 46 balls (five sixes, 12 fours) powered Northamptonshire to victory. That innings inspired him to play a long knock the next day, September 4, in the second ODI against England, helping him achieve his fifth consecutive 50-plus score — a new world record. He scored 85 runs in that match, surpassing Navjot Singh Sidhu’s long-standing record of four consecutive fifties.
Breetzke’s scores in his first five ODIs:
The 26-year-old right-handed batter and wicketkeeper made his ODI debut in February 2025. His scores in the first five matches are: 150, 83, 57, 88, and 85 runs. In his sixth ODI (against England on Sunday), he was dismissed for just 4 runs. England won that match by a record margin of 342 runs.
Sidhu’s record of four fifties broken
With five consecutive 50-plus scores to start his career, Breetzke broke Navjot Singh Sidhu’s 38-year-old record of four consecutive 50-plus scores. Sidhu had achieved this in the 1987 Cricket World Cup: 73 vs Australia, 75 vs New Zealand, 51 vs Australia, 55 vs Zimbabwe.
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