Breetzke, Stubbs stand tall but Proteas' score may be under par without rested captain Bavuma
Matthew Breetzke scored a second consecutive ODI half-century for the Proteas against Australia.
Image: DAVID GRAY / AFP
South Africa: 277 all out (Matthew Breetzke 88; Tristuns Stubbs 74; Adam Zampa 3/63)
Proteas batters Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs were the only two batters to reach the half-century mark in the first innings of the second One Day International as the visitors put up 277 all out.
To start off the day, the Proteas announced their team without captain Temba Bavuma, who has been rested for the match as part of his workload management after recovering from a hamstring strain, which he sustained during the World Test Championship Final in June.
That meant senior batter Aiden Markram would step up and stand in for Bavuma. The 33-year-old won the toss and opted to bat on what looked like a deliciously good pitch to bat on.
However, Markram (0) and his opening partner Ryan Rickelton (8) did not last long as they were dismissed off poor shots inside the first six overs of the match.
Replacing Bavuma at number three in the batting order, Tony de Zorzi had a golden opportunity to fight for a spot in the starting XI, and he had the in-form Matthew Breetzke to bat with for the third-wicket partnership.
The duo put on a 67-run stand, with both batters looking rock solid despite the shaky start that South Africa endured.
However, De Zorzi was dismissed on 38 after a leading edge off his bat located wrist-spinner Adam Zampa for a caught and bowled.
Breetzke and Stubbs, having batted together for years in domestic cricket down in Gqeberha, assembled in the middle and weathered the storm for South Africa.
The pair were explosive and rotated the strike regularly as they put together 89 runs before Breetzke was caught in the deep off a mistimed pull shot.
The 26-year-old had already registered a fourth consecutive 50-plus score in as many ODI matches for the Proteas when he was dismissed and was visibly disappointed having missed out on a second ODI century.
Stubbs went on to score an 87-ball 74 as South Africa lost wickets in clusters toward the back end of the innings, with Dewald Brevis (1), Wiaan Mulder (26), and Senuran Muthusamy (4) missing out.
In the end, the Proteas missed out on scoring a big total after having set batters in Breetzke and Stubbs, as they only managed 277 all out, failing to bat out the allotted 50 overs.