Five fifties in five innings from debut: South Africa newbie overtakes India batter to achieve ODI world first

The 26-year-old came into bat at No.4 at the Home of Cricket, replacing captain Temba Bavuma who was out for four. The Proteas soon lost Aiden Markram one short of a second consecutive half-century, leaving Tristan Stubbs and Breetzke to build a partnership through the middle overs. After taking eight balls to get off the mark, Breetzke caught up on his strike rate when Jacob Bethell was brought on to bowl, hitting a four and a six off consecutive balls from the all-rounder.

By the time he reached 50, he'd brought his strike-rate into the nineties, reaching the milestone off his 57th ball at the crease. That was his fifth half-century in consecutive innings, in his fifth ODI. On debut against New Zealand earlier this year, Breetzke made a memorable century, scoring 150 and breaking the record for the highest score by a player on debut in a men's ODI. Having made scores of 83, 57 and 88 in his following three innings in February, Breetzke missed the series opener in England but replaced Toni de Zorzi at Lord's.

Breetzke achieves ODI world first

By passing 50 for the fifth consecutive time, Breetzke is now the sole holder for the most consecutive 50s scored from a player's first match in ODI cricket. Before the game at Lord's, Breetzke jointly held the record with India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu, who scored four consecutive fifties from his debut in 1987.

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