New bat helps Brits surpass Lanning in record books
Media release
Tazmin Brits revealed a new bat and a disinterest in records powered her to a fifth century of the year as she guided South Africa to victory over New Zealand.
The opener posted 101 off 89 balls to give the Proteas the perfect platform to chase down 232.
In doing so, she hit her seventh ODI century in just 41 innings, bettering the legendary Meg Lanning as the fastest to achieve that feat.
“Funnily enough, I’m not one for records, but when you mention Meg Lanning, I’m glad I’m above that one,” she said. “But as long as we are winning games, I am all good.
“I’ve been backing myself a bit more. I am trying to be as positive as I can. We actually had a lot of batting camps, I think that definitely helped me a lot.
“I’ve tried to expand my batting a bit more and not be too one-dimensional.
“When I went out there, I just said I am going to be as positive as possible, as we needed this win.
“It’s actually funny, it was a new bat, I haven’t used it once and I think that is going to be a lucky bat from now on.”
Nonkululeko Mlaba had led the bowling efforts for South Africa with her second four-for in ODIs, as New Zealand squandered a positive position despite Sophie Devine’s 85.
Brits partnered Suné Luus to knock off the majority of the total, with the latter hitting the winning runs to make 81 not out as South Africa chased 232 with 9.1 overs remaining.
A fifth ODI century of the year was another record for Brits, with no woman ever having hit so many in a calendar year.
The right-hander has set herself a target of three tons in this World Cup, something captain Laura Wolvaardt hopes to see realised.
She said: “She is going amazing, I think she has scored [five] hundreds in her last 11 games.
“It is just phenomenal to have her in our changing room, and I’m very glad she is doing that and continuing it into the World Cup. Hopefully, she can keep doing that for games to come.”
While South Africa’s campaign had lift-off after a disappointing defeat to England in their opener, New Zealand are still searching for their first points.
Suzie Bates notched her 350th appearance for the White Ferns, with Devine playing her 300th.
The experience the skipper Devine has is why she is not panicking despite two defeats from two games.
Her side won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 despite entering the tournament on a run of 10 defeats, so she knows well how quickly things can change.
“We have spoken about this even before we started this competition that we are going to have to win a lot of games,” Devine said. “And that is no different for us now.
"It probably puts a little bit more pressure on these remaining games for us, but I think this is a good thing for us, as we know exactly where we stand and what we will have to do.
“We will reflect on this game, there were still some things that went well during both innings, but we know, in this competition, you can’t just play half a game. There is still a very long way to go in this tournament."
ENDS