Seconds after reaching her first century in a World Cup, Tazmin Brits knelt down and mimed firing an arrow out of the stadium.
Whether she was emulating Usain Bolt or Katniss Everdeen, or firing a message of her own, it’s triumphant tone was clear. It sealed her fifth ODI century in the last 10 months – already the most among women in a calendar year – and secured an important win for South Africa following their annihilation by England last week.
Aside from the wider picture, the innings in itself was near faultless. She reached her first 50 off 44 balls – her fastest half-century in ODIs – and targeted New Zealand’s dangerous spinners, Melie Kerr and Eden Carson. In Kerr’s second over after the powerplay, Brits hit 10 runs in four balls, punching decisively down the ground for four before thumping through the covers to finish the over with a boundary. Later in the innings, Carson was clubbed back over her own head twice, and ended the game with one of the most expensive spells of her career.
Besides Brits’ raw numbers this year, which have her on track for one of the best years in the format any player has ever had, it’s power that sets her apart. Few players have the ability to take down attacks over an extended period as Brits does. Against Pakistan in the second match of the warm-up series before this World Cup, she smashed the final 50 of her 171 runs in 24 balls, hitting half of the fours she scored in the innings during that period. Of players who have played 45 or fewer ODIs, only Richa Ghosh has hit more sixes than Brits, and no one in that bracket comes anywhere close to her total of 175 fours. Almost half of those boundaries have come in the last year.
Also Read: The Tazmin Brits story – A broken Olympic javelin dream, now in sight of an ODI world record
Before 2025, Brits’ numbers put her below the top tier of ODI openers, having had decent success and scored her first century in 2023, but still a way off the top brass. She averaged just under 30 with a strike rate in the mid-70s, and was yet to cross 1,000 career runs. Having taken over from Lizelle Lee as Laura Wolvaardt’s opening partner in 2022, the pair ticked along mostly on Wolvaardt’s brilliance, but didn’t emulate the consistent platforms Lee and Wolvaardt had provided over the years.
However, from the start of this year, Brits’ numbers have skyrocketed. She’s striking at nearly 100 across 11 innings, and averaging more than 80. Only Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal have scored more as an opening pair than Brits and Wolvaardt, and no one has more stands of over 100 for the first wicket.
For South Africa as a whole, that period of 2022-24 marked a transitional period. Following their success in the 2023 T20 World Cup, the more than a decade-long tenure of head coach Hilton Moreng came to an acrimonious end, with several players writing a letter to CSA asking for a leadership change. Over the previous 12 months, controversy over fitness tests which led to the retirements of Lee and Dane van Niekerk left the team without two of their best players. Less than six months after stepping in to captain South Africa during the 2023 T20 World Cup, Sune Luus stepped down, at the same time as then vice-captain Chloe Tryon took a leave of absence for a tour of Pakistan.
Match 7, New Zealand Women vs South Africa Women
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From hitting that low-point midway through 2023, while their results in ODIs have remained inconsistent, South Africa have quietly rebuilt. They beat Australia in an ODI in early 2024, in a victory underpinned by two of their young bowling cohort, Eliz-Mari Marx and Ayanda Hlubi. While they reached a second consecutive T20 World Cup final, they drew an ODI series to Sri Lanka, were dismantled by India and suffered two heavy defeats to England. In an ODI tri-series against India and Sri Lanka earlier this year, they finished bottom of the table.
Results, however, don’t give the full picture of where South Africa are currently at. They’ve successfully brought players through from their U19 pathway, and reaped the rewards of giving their young players exposure when seniors are busy in franchise leagues or otherwise unavailable. Annerie Dercksen, who made her national debut in 2023, scored her maiden ODI century batting at No.7 against West Indies earlier this year, adding to South Africa’s already numerous options in the middle order. More significant, however, has been their experienced heads below the ranks of Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp propelling their careers to the next level. Beyond Brits, both Sune Luus and Nonkululeko Mlaba are having arguably their best years in the format.
Their capitulation to England in their World Cup opener was at odds with South Africa’s overall narrative of the last 18 months. Faced with a high-quality spin attack, batter after batter was drawn in as they plummeted to their third-lowest ODI total. Brits’ demolition of New Zealand, however, backed up Wolvaardt’s words in the aftermath of the England defeat that it was “one of those days” rather than indicative of the storyline their tournament would follow.
To go with her record of hundreds for the year, Brits is now closing in on Wolvaardt’s national record for runs in a calendar year. She’s less than 150 away and with another five matches left in the group stage, she has every chance of surpassing her. If South Africa make it to the knockouts, she won’t be far off the previously never-crossed 1,000 run mark, which Smriti Mandhana is currently closing in on. Regardless of whether Brits gets there or not, or whether South Africa make the final World Cup four, the steps they’ve taken over the last 18 months have built the foundation of a side capable of challenging for the most prestigious prize in the women’s game.
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