Proteas Star Breetzke Targets World Cup Success While Helping Cricket Grow in USA

Proteas and Seattle Orcas batter Matthew Breetzke is embracing the possibility of helping grow the sport in the United States of America in the upcoming fourth edition of the MLC. 

The 27-year-old reiterated his goal of winning the 2027 World Cup with South Africa on home soil as dates are revealed. 

Growing the Sport

The highly anticipated fourth season of Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States of America is finally upon us, with the Texas Super Kings and Seattle Orcas set to headline the season curtain-raiser on June 18. 

Among the many overseas players set to compete in America this year is South African batter Matthew Breetzke, who is up for his first MLC season. 

Despite not having taken the field of play for a couple of months, Breetzke is fresh from the Indian Premier League with the Lucknow Super Giants. 

The right-handed batter has had a good year from a T20 franchise point of view, having won the SA20 earlier in the year in his first stint with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. 

Now, the explosive batter has his sights set on sharing his knowledge and experience with the local players in the MLC, and also learning from the locals.

Breetzke has told SportsBoom that he is in for some learning of his own, given that the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, who has joined the San Francisco Unicorns this season, are also going to compete in the States this season. 

"It's a great competition for the local players to play with some really big-name overseas players and learn from them. Obviously, the number one goal of this tournament is to grow the game of cricket in the US," Breetzke said in an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.co.za.  

"I'm also looking forward to learning from them and learning from the other overseas players that I'm going to play with and against. Whenever I play cricket, I want to win. So, I'm just looking forward to hopefully winning games." 

Tournament Opener

Going into the tournament opener against the Texas Super Kings at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas this coming Friday, Breetzke says his preparation has gone well.

Despite not having had game time in months, Breetzke has told SportsBoom that he feels his game is in a good space and hopes to hit the ground running. 

"I haven't played a match in almost three to four months, so it's going to be nice to get out there and feel those nerves again and be back in that competitive environment again," he added.  

"The preparation has gone well. Most of the guys are getting here today (Monday, 15 June), so we'll be as a group from today for the next three days till the first game. So, there's a really good buzz in the team, and I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully, we can start the comp off well."

2027 ICC Cricket World Cup

It has been revealed that the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup will take place between October and November in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. 

For Breetzke, given that he has been rewarded with his first national contract after an impressive run in One Day Internationals over the last 12 months, playing in the World Cup is very much achievable. 

The 28-year-old says he has his sights on helping the country win the tournament at home next year. 

South Africa has a three-match ODI series with each of Australia, Bangladesh and England later this year and into the new year, with the team looking to prepare for the World Cup. 

"(The World Cup is) on my mind daily. Everything I'm working towards now is winning that World Cup, whether it's in my training or whatever; that's always at the back of my mind. So, I'm really looking forward to that," he said.  

"(Australia), Bangladesh and England are coming to our home turf. That will be a really good preparation in terms of getting the guys playing ODI cricket again together, and hopefully I can put in some match-winning performances to again cement my spot for that World Cup team."