Matthew Breetzke Reveals Brutal Proteas Verdict from Selector Talks: “Not in Their Plans” 

With the 2027 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup not too far away, Proteas batter Matthew Breetzke has highlighted his determination to fight for a permanent spot across all three formats after being told by Convenor selector Patrick Moroney that his future in the national set-up is not set in stone yet. 

Conversation with Moroney

In an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.co.za, Breetzke revealed that he has had a recent conversation with the Cricket South Africa Convenor selector, Patrick Moroney. 

Breetzke highlighted that Moroney made it clear that his future is not set in stone in the Proteas, in any of the formats. 

Now, one could perhaps understand Moroney's sentiments in the sense of the T20I and Test squads. 

However, in One Day Internationals, Breetzke has been a revelation, dominating teams all around the world, including Australia Down Under last year, England in England, and India in India. 

The right-hander currently averages 64 in ODIs, with six fifties and one century in only 12 innings, and holds a series of records, including that of the highest ODI score on debut. 

Despite the chilling news of his bleak future, Breetzke remains determined to become an all-format player for the Proteas. 

The 27-year-old has vowed to do all that it takes to get him into the Proteas environment. 

"I had a brief with Patrick Maroney on my future with the Proteas and it was basically that for the foreseeable future, they don't see me in the T20 and Test side because there are batters ahead of me," Breetzke told SportsBoom.co.za.  

"With regard to the One Day side, he basically said my spot is not secured. That's pretty much it, and I'll be working hard to put weight of runs and hopefully secure a spot in the near future. That's definitely the goal."

Desire & Determination 

Breetzke made his maiden international appearance in T20I cricket before going on to make his debut in one Test match in Bangladesh and his ODI debut just before the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan. 

He has since been in and out of the Test and T20I sides, but has been a consistent outfit in ODI cricket, even captaining South Africa in a series against Pakistan last year. 

The 27-year-old remains unshaken in his pursuit to be a permanent all-format player for the Proteas. 

He believes he needs to tweak his game in T20I cricket and widen his range of shots, while he asks for consistency in his role in Test cricket. 

"I want to play all formats for South Africa. I think in terms of T20 cricket, I think there's maybe one or two shots I can get into my game to elevate my skill," Breetzke said.  

"In saying that, I played for quite a few teams over the last two years, about five or six teams, and each team has given me a different role. Like the Sunrisers, I was batting at three, I was in the role of being the rock and getting control of that middle order." 

"And then when I played County cricket, I batted at the top, and it was just to go out there and bash it, and I've done really well at that. At the Warriors, it's a bit more of a responsible role. So, I would need role clarity on where they would see me and then take it from there." 

"But in terms of Test cricket, obviously, it's about the weight of runs and getting a good run and knowing where they see me. I've obviously batted at six in my debut game and then opened the batting the next game, and then I was out." 

"So, I think the weight of runs will help a lot. I should probably have that conversation with Shukri sometime soon, but I've got a massive burning desire to play all three formats for South Africa."

World Cup Dreams

The last time Breetzke played World Cup cricket was during his South Africa Under-19 days, but his desire to be in a team that wins the World Cup for South Africa remains unshaken. 

At the moment, having done well in ODI cricket over the last 12 to 13 months, Breetzke could well make that dream a reality as South Africa is set to co-host the 2027 World Cup.

"I've done really nicely in ODI cricket, and I know my role pretty well within the team. I wouldn't say I'm desperate to make the squad, but I'm desperate to win the World Cup," Breetzke said.  

"That's all that's on my mind for the last, ever since I can remember, really. Every training session I go to, it's about trying to play big matches well, and I think I've got a record of performing under pressure and when must-win games come alive." 

"I've done a lot of hard work on that, especially with Robbie P. We chat about it a lot about how to play big matches and things like that. That's been a lot of my work, and hopefully I can do that when it comes to the Home World Cup in 2027." 

"That will be the goal, and the dream is to potentially hit those winning runs for South Africa and win a World Cup in South Africa."

The 27-year-old is now with the Lucknow Super Giants for his second Indian Premier League season.