3 South African batters who can score a double-hundred in ODIs

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but moments.” This quote by American philanthropist Rose Kennedy doesn’t stick together with the game of cricket. A player enjoys every moment whenever he scripts a milestone.

Milestones define an individual player’s caliber and post challenges for the youngsters to overhaul them. Scoring a double-hundred in One-Day Internationals seemed onerous until legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar did it in 2010 against South Africa.

Since then, the record books have registered a total of 10 double-centuries, with Shubman Gill’s 208 against New Zealand in the Hyderabad ODI this year being the latest entrant. India are apparently seen as a powerhouse for notching up double-tons in ODIs. Seven out of 10 hundreds have been scored by the Indians and six of those have come on Indian soil.

South Africa, who played their first ODI match against India in 1991 after their national cricket team was reinstated, have never seen a double-centurion in the 50-over format even though they have achieved the feat on numerous occasions in Tests.

Former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten’s unbeaten 188 against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 1996 World Cup in Rawalpindi remains the highest individual score for the Proteas in ODIs. In February 2017, former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis had the opportunity to achieve the milestone but was dismissed for 185 by Lahiru Madushanka in the final over of the first innings.

Let’s look below three South African batters who could score their first ODI double-ton for their country in the coming years.

#1 Quinton de Kock

South Africa’s swashbuckling batter is handy to take on bowlers in field-restricted overs. His penchant to maximize the scoring rate in the first powerplay overs - 2675 runs at 48.63 - made him a destructive opener for the Proteas.

Among the active South African players in white-ball affairs at the moment, de Kock has the most runs in ODIs, having scored 5833 runs in 135 innings at an average of 45.57. The left-handed batter has hit 29 half-centuries and 17 centuries in nine years of playing the ODI format.

De Kock’s century tally is leveled with South Africa’s highest run-scorer in ODIs - Jacques Kallis (17) - with Hashim Amla (27), AB de Villiers (25), and Herschelle Gibbs (21) being ahead of the southpaw on that ladder.

While chasing 295 against Australia in Centurion in the 2016 bilateral series, de Kock scored a scintillating 178 off 113 balls to steer his side to a six-wicket win in a match where the Proteas didn’t had the services of Amla and de Villiers. The South African gloveman bludgeoned the inexperienced Australian bowling attack, hammering 11 fours and 11 sixes to record South Africa’s second-highest individual score in ODIs at that point.

With age and flamboyance by his side, QDK could possibly be the first batter from the rainbow nation to hit a double-ton in the traditional white-ball format.

#2 Rassie van der Dussen

Van der Dussen is a solid batter who plays a vital role for South Africa in the middle order, particularly after Faf du Plessis’ notable absence from the white-ball teams.

He is someone who reads the game situation well before acclimating to it. Although he can strike heavily in T20Is to up the ante, Van der Dussen bats decently in ODIs to ensure his availability at the crease. He is one of the few players in the South African camp who bats well in all three formats of the game at the moment.

VDD has amassed 1525 runs in 32 ODI innings at 69.31 with 11 fifties and three centuries. Interestingly, his highest individual score in international and domestic List A is 134.

The Lions batter has the potential to better his individual ODI score and breach the 200-run mark in that format. He can play a long inning once he gets into his rhythm and mixes it with determination.

#3 Dewald Brevis

This should be a surprising pick for you and why not? Yes, the player is yet to get a breakthrough for the senior men's Proteas team on the international stage.

But given the spark in his ability to hit the ball in white-ball cricket, the 19-year-old is undisputedly destined to break every single record in South African cricket and perhaps across the globe.

Brevis was the leading run-scorer in the 2022 ICC U19 World Cup with 506 runs in six innings at 84.33, including two three-figure scores.

The expectations from Brevis have been significantly higher after he struck 162 runs off 57 balls while playing a domestic T20 match for the Titans against the Knights. He smashed 13 sixes and as many boundaries at a strike rate of 284.21 to record the highest T20 score in South Africa's domestic cricket.

Brevis is yet to make an impact in List A cricket as the numbers - 147 runs at 24.50 in six innings - do not justify his talent at the moment. It should come as no surprise if this young lad goes on to break Kirsten's highest score of 188* in the coming years.