Proteas batter Rubin Hermann pushes his case for his One-Day debut for the senior side with an unbeaten 158-run knock in the run chase against New Zealand A. The South Africa A opener rescued his side amidst batting collapse and kept firing on all cylinders, getting them over the line with three wickets left and 124 balls to spare.
New Zealand A crash early
In the first of three-unofficial ODI series, the visiting captain Nick Kelly won the toss and opted to bat first at Tshwane University of Technology Oval, Pretoria. Tshepo Moreki dismissed Dale Phillips for a single-digit score in the third over. Skipper Kelly could not covert a decent start into a big score. He became Okuhle Cele's only victim of the innings. In the next over, Bevon Jacobs fell for a four-ball duck. Opener Rhys Mariu could not get a big score either. Mihlali Mpongwana got the better of him in the 14th over. He scored 38 runs from as many deliveries, including eight fours.
Foulkes’ patient knock gets visitors past 200
In the 15th over, Gerald Coetzee struck twice to dismiss wicketkeeper-batter Mitchell Hay and Josh Clarkson for ducks. Nqabayomzi Peter got into the attack and knocked over Muhammad Abbas for a 41-ball 25. From 107/7, Zakary Foulkes and Simon Keene rescued New Zealand A. They shared a 66-run partnership for the eighth wicket. Keene contributed with a 31-ball 37. Foulkes continued to play patiently and strung together partnerships with Adithya Ashok and Matthew Fisher. Foulkes scored 75 runs from 117 balls, including six fours and a six. His knock helped New Zealand A post 229 on the board. They were bowled out in the penultimate over.
Fisher gets 4 with new ball
In the run chase, South Africa lost two early wickets. Fisher struck off consecutive balls of his first over to dismiss Rivaldo Moonswamy and Jordan Hermann for golden ducks. In the eighth over, he struck off consecutive balls again. This time he dismissed captain Marques Ackerman and wicketkeeper-batter Sinethemba Qeshile. Ackerman contributed with a 22-ball 26. Fisher had conceded four consecutive fours before getting the two wickets. Despite wickets falling at the other end, Rubin continued to shine. He reached his fifty from 42 balls. Leg-spinner Ashok broke the partnership in the 17th over by knocking over Jason Smith. The hosts lost half the side for 124.
One-way traffic from Rubin
In his next over, Ashok trapped Mpongwana in front of the stumps for a single-digit score. Fisher was brought back into the attack and Rubin smashed him for two sixes to reach his century from just 67 deliveries. On the other end, Coetzee could not do much damage either. He fell after scoring just five runs, becoming Ashok's third scalp of the day. Peter played the perfect role on the other end, defending and dealing in singles. Rubin continued to torment bowlers and reached his 150 from 92 balls. On the second ball of the 30th over, he hit Ashok for a maximum to finish the run chase in style. His knock of 93-ball 158 was studded with 18 fours and seven sixes.
Rubin’s international career
Rubin averages nearly 50 in List A cricket but is yet to make his ODI debut. He has played T20Is for South Africa, scoring 130 runs from five innings at an average of 26, including one fifty. He last played T20I in the tri-series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.