Warriors batsman Matthew Breetzke is relishing the opportunity to pull on the green-and-gold after being named in the 12-man SA invitational side to play the Netherlands in a one-off match next week.
The destructive right-hand batter is one of four players from the Eastern Province side to get the nod for the match, to be played at the LC de Villiers Oval in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Having played for SA at U19 and SA A level, Breetzke says this is another opportunity to get his foot a bit further in the door to the national set-up.
“I am chuffed with the call-up. There is a good bunch of players in the side who have all done well domestically, so I am happy to be rewarded for good performances in the season.
“Unfortunately it is only one game, so anything can happen.
“For me, it will be about trying to put in a good performance and in so doing, take another step closer to where I want to be,” Breetzke said on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old was one of the top performers for the Warriors during the recently concluded domestic season, particularly in the red ball format.
While it was a disappointing season by his standards in the white ball competitions, where he scored just 351 runs across 12 matches including three half-centuries, it was his showing in the first-class format that reminded everyone what the former Grey High pupil is all about.
Playing in seven matches in the red ball competition, Breetzke finished as the top run scorer with 727 runs from 14 innings, at an average of 60.58.
He also chalked up three centuries and four fifties, with the highest score of 112 not out against the North West Dragons in November last year.
Despite things not always falling in their favour, Breetzke said the way the Warriors fared this season, across all formats, shows they are growing as a unit.
“If you look at the lack of experience we have, and still managing to finish so close behind the Dolphins in the standings, it says a lot about this group of players.
“In terms of the brand of cricket we want to play, we saw quite a lot of that during the season, and specifically in the four-day stuff.
“We stuck to a brand that I believe is the way forward both for cricket in this region, but also across the country and into the national fold as well,” he said.
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