BREETZKE TO BRING HIS 'COMPETITIVE NATURE' TO DSG FOR SEASON 3

Matthew Breetzke has always had a swagger about him. He knows it, and everyone around him knows it too.

It’s been evident since he first picked up a bat when he still in diapers. It helped that this self-confidence was backed up by an immense amount of talent.

The 25-year-old was outstanding in all age-group cricket. The method was beautiful and orthodox and the runs flowed since debuting for the Grey High First XI whilst still in Grade 8 down in Gqeberha.

It was never a case of if he would become a professional cricketer but rather when.

That duly arrived when Breetzke made his first-class debut for Eastern Province whilst still a teenager.

He would go on to play for the Warriors very shortly afterwards, which rubber stamped the fact that St George’s Park would be Breetzke’s home for the foreseeable future.

Breetzke certainly never imagined him playing for anyone else domestically in South Africa.

The modern-day cricket landscape has changed though and the advent of Betway SA20 has provided South African cricketers with opportunities that were unimaginable in the recent past.

And it was the launch of South Africa’s premier domestic cricket competition that saw the born-and-bred Gqeberha lad pack up his bags and take the road up the east coast to play for Durban’s Super Giants.

Breetzke has flourished in the DSG camp under the mentorship of Lance Klusener, enjoying a fantastic Season 2 where he finished as the competition’s third-highest run-scorer with 416 runs, but it was the return to St George’s Park that ignited his fire.

“Ever since I was a young boy I had dreamed about playing in St George’s Park and obviously going into the SA20 playing in blue, it was a bit of a different vibe,” Breetzke told Betway SA20.

“It was quite a cool feeling playing at my home ground in blue. It gets my juices flowing, playing against the home team, in front of the Orange Army, and sort of knowing they didn’t back you, and you come there, with a bit of a point to prove. So I'm definitely looking forward to going back there in Season 3.”

Breetzke’s bounty of runs in Season 2 has seen him graduate to international cricket where he has played eight T20Is for the Proteas already, which included a maiden half-century against Ireland in Abu Dhabi recently.

He also earned a deal with Nottinghamshire for England’s T20 Blast, where he topped the run-scoring charts for the Outlaws with 460 runs at an average of 38.33 and strike-rate of 153.84.

“It was good fun, the main difference is that you don’t have four big international players there (like SA20),” Breetzke said. 

“In terms of the quality of cricket, and the crowds, they were both really good. Just grateful to have the opportunity due to SA20 that has catapulted me into the T20 Blast.”

The 25-year-old is hoping to take the learnings and experiences of the winter into Season 3 where he is keen on even bigger return to propel last season’s runners-up to a maiden championship title. 

“January has become a spectacle. Everyone looks forward to it now,” he said.

“I’ll bring my competitive nature and will to win all the time. That’s the way I want to play my cricket. And hopefully I can help win a lot of games for Durban’s Super Giants. I’m sure it's going to be a good one.”

Durban’s Super Giants open their Betway SA20 Season 3 campaign against Pretoria Capitals at Kingsmead on Friday, 10 January 2025.