South Africa batter Rubin Hermann starred for the A team in their first match against New Zealand A on Saturday (August 30).
Rubin Hermann takes South Africa A over the line against New Zealand
The two teams faced off at the LC de Villiers Oval in Pretoria, in the first of three unofficial ODIs. New Zealand skipper Nick Kelly won the toss and chose to bat first. Kelly was in to bat early, as opener Dale Phillips fell in the third over. He put on 39 with Rhys Mariu, but Kelly's dismissal for 18 saw his side slide from 52-1 to 88-6.
That brought Test record-breaker Zakary Foulkes to the crease, and the quick scored his maiden List A half-century. He finished with 74 off 117 balls to rescue the innings, taking New Zealand A to 229.
The hosts' chase got off to the worst possible start. Matthew Fisher dismissed Rivaldo Moonsamy and Jordan Hermann, both for golden ducks off consecutive deliveries in the second over.
1st unofficial ODI, South Africa A vs New Zealand A
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Fisher struck twice more in the Powerplay, once again off consecutive balls – dislodging opposition skipper Marques Ackermann before accounting for wicketkeeper Sinethemba Qeshile. Opener Rubin Hermann kept the scoring going though, and despite being four down South Africa were well ahead of the required rate after ten overs with 79 on the board. Hermann had 46 of those, off 34 balls.
The left-hander kept the chase alive even as he kept losing partners. Jason Smith and Mihlali Mpongwana both fell victim to leggie Adi Ashok, but Hermann brought up a fifth List A century off 65 balls with a towering six, in the company of Gerald Coetzee.
Ashok got rid of Coetzee in the 25th over to leave South Africa 188-7, and set the nerves jangling. But Nqaba Peter stuck around, surviving 18 balls as Hermann contributed 36 to an eighth-wicket partnership of 43. He sealed the win in the 30th over, hitting Ashok over long-on for six.
Read more: Sibling rivalry: South African brothers score unbeaten fifties for opposing teams in SA20
Hermann finished on unbeaten on 158, out of South Africa's score of 231 – 68.4 per cent of the team's runs. Records are not available for List A cricket, but the record in men's ODI cricket is a player scoring 69.5 per cent (Viv Richards' 189 out of 272 for West Indies in 1984).
This was also Hermann's highest score in List A, and in fact, all professional cricket. Somewhat curiously, he has a T20 century as well, but his highest first-class score after 33 matches remains 95. He has played five T20Is for South Africa so far, scoring 130 runs.
Rubin Hermann – Highest List A scores
| Score | For | Against | Year |
| 158* | South Africa A | New Zealand A | 2025 |
| 134 | Mpumalanga | Border | 2022 |
| 122 | Northerns | Northern Cape | 2017 |
| 114 | Northerns | KwaZulu-Natal Inland | 2018 |
| 102 | Northerns | North West | 2020 |
Image credit: YouTube / Cricket South Africa
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