Warriors batsman Matthew Breetzke will be judging his season on how many games he has won for his side, not personal achievements, writes Nabeelah Fakier.
Breetzke is one of the many up and coming talented young players in South Africa.
The 20-year-old is a right-handed batsman for the Warriors, and he was the SA U19 cricketer of the year in 2018 after a brilliant season.
Since then, he has been called up to the SA Emerging side, has become more of a regular with his franchise and has started to find his own unique identity.
I had the opportunity to have a Q&A with Breetzke about his recent experiences and future goals.
Last year he was asked by then Proteas coach Ottis Gibson, to join the Proteas camp during their One-Day International series against Zimbabwe.
What was the opportunity to tag along with the Proteas like?
“Being with the Proteas, it was something very special to me and something I’ll never forget. It really made me hungry to play at that level. The way the guys go about their business is something very special and they were very welcoming towards me. They were willing to talk to me about anything – that meant a lot to me. It was an awesome experience and I’m still thankful for it to this day.”
Breetzke was there to learn and get insights on how the Proteas play and do things, he gave some insight into what he picked up while observing them.
“I learnt quite a bit, not really technical stuff, more on the mental side of things and preparation, the way they go about their business. I’ve taken a lot into my game, also their mental approach when they fail or are under pressure and how they cope with it is something I learnt.
“I also learnt quite a lot from Faf and the way he goes about his business. It was a very valuable experience.”
Any players in particular who sort of took you under their wing?
“Pretty much all of them were very welcoming, Faf and JP were really good to me – They spoke a lot to me and took me under their wing.
“I wasn’t there for a long time so I spoke to pretty much everyone I could get to speak to, I took bits and pieces from everyone and what they do in their work.”
What are the difficulties you face being an opening batsman and do you feel pressured to score more runs than the rest?
“I think in white-ball cricket opening the batting is probably the best time to bat, for me I don’t really feel the pressure to score the most runs. However, I put a lot of pressure on myself in playing match-winning innings, you know.
“I try to take the game away from the opposition by trying to get my strike rate up there and in red-ball cricket that’s a different kind of challenge, conditions dictate a lot, but a nice one as well, and I’m still looking to find my feet in red-ball cricket.”
How do you balance your everyday life and your career, how do you keep your focus to ensure your success?
“Yes I think that’s a really important thing, what I’m getting used to doing now is, when I leave practice or leave the game I’m trying to leave my work at the ground and forget about it when I’m at home spending time with my family.
“I do a lot of running which takes my mind off things and spend time with my friends, family and my girlfriend because I do feel that if you don’t get time away from the game, it can be pretty tough especially when you’re not doing that well.”
The MSL T20 2.0 draft took place in September, which saw Breetzke get drafted by the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants.
Fellow Warriors teammate Marco Marais is also in the squad after being retained for a second season by the Giants.
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What was your reaction to being drafted by NMBG?
“I was very happy to be drafted into the Giants team because I know a couple of players in there. The coach Rivash Gobind is someone who’s backed me for a while now, I love working under him, he just lets me go play my game and he’s helped me a lot in my early career.
“It’s something I’m really excited for and I was pretty surprised to be picked up that early, but also excited for the opportunity and thankful that they showed faith in me.”
The Giants boast players such as Proteas spinner Imran Tahir, World Cup Winner Jason Roy and Proteas all-rounder Chris Morris.
What are you most excited about and are there any specific players you’re most keen to learn from?
“I’m most excited to play against the best in the world and challenge myself against the best bowlers – guys like KG Rabada, Morne Morkel, all those guys I wanna take on and challenge myself against them. Then see where my game is at and what I can work on.
“The guy in my team I’m really looking forward to playing with is Jason Roy, he’s someone I look up to in white-ball cricket I’ve spoken to quite a few people and he’s probably one of my favourite players at the moment in the white-ball game. So sharing a dressing room with him is going to be something special and I’m really looking forward to it.”
What are goals for the upcoming domestic season with the Warriors?
“My goal is just to try and do the best for the team, again I go back to what I said, I want to win matches for the Warriors, I want to play match-winning knocks.
“I’m not too much of a stats man so for me I judge myself on how many games I can win for the Warriors, that’s basically what I’m going judge myself on this season.
“I’m looking to be a bit more consistent and I want to keep playing my natural attacking game, and then obviously I want to be a regular in the 4-Day stuff, hopefully, that will take care of itself, but we will see.”
The 4-Day Franchise Series kicks off on the 7th of October.
What advice do would you give to other up and coming young players like yourself who are hoping to achieve similar success with the game?
“My advice for young players would be, not to listen to everyone who gives you advice. Listen to yourself be your own person, you’ve got your own natural ability, your own unique ability, trust that.
“Don’t try and mimic someone else – what you’ve got is special listen to only a hand full of people because there’s a lot of people out there who want to give you advice, but don’t listen to everyone. It can boggle your mind a bit.”
