Proteas Men’s stand-in ODI captain Matthew Breetzke is hoping his team can start on the front foot in the series-opener in Faisalabad on Tuesday.
And it will all have to start at the very top after the Proteas openers struggled to lay a platform in the recently-completed T20I series, in which Pakistan came from behind to win 2-1 with consecutive victories in Lahore.
Quinton de Kock’s return to the Proteas T20I top-order did not go according to plan with the veteran opener only managing a breezy 23 in the opening game before consecutive failures.
The Proteas lost a wicket without scoring in both Lahore encounters that put the rest of the batters under pressure for the remainder of the innings.
The ODI batting line-up boasts similar personnel to the T20I squad with only Breetzke’s Warriors teammate Sinethemba Qeshile being added to the 50-overs squad.
Lights, camera… Proteas! 🎬📸#TheProteas Men wrapped up their media shoot before the ODI series begins tomorrow! 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/H9c2WSzLuq
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 3, 2025
Breetzke was unable to confirm whether Qeshile, who has played two T20Is previously, but is uncapped at ODI level will be handed a debut on Tuesday, but is confident the Proteas will put their best foot forward.
“I’m not too sure about the batting line-up yet, that will be announced tomorrow (Tuesday),” he said.
“Obviously it wasn’t that easy, wasn’t that successful for the opening pair, but it’s a different format.
“They’ve got a little bit more time now, so I’m sure they’ll come good.”
This is in contrast to Pakistan with their batting unit rediscovering some form, most notably premier batter Babar Azam.
Pakistan’s former captain struck a series-winning 68 in third T20I in Lahore – his first T20I half-century in 14 innings – and seems to have rediscovered his magical touch.
Babar also had the added motivation of being just one century short of matching former opener Saeed Anwar’s record of 20 ODI centuries – the most by a Pakistan batter in limited-overs cricket.
Breetzke is acutely aware of the threat Babar poses to the Proteas.
“Babar is an unbelievable player, he’s come into form, so there will be a lot of pressure on him to keep delivering,” he said.
“We’ve come up with plans to hopefully stop him from scoring runs, but he’s an unbelievable player and hopefully we can stop him in this series.”
The three-match series which will be played in entirety at the Iqbal Stadium will see the return of international cricket to Faisalabad for the first time in 17 years.
The central city in Punjab province last staged an international match in 2008 when Pakistan and Bangladesh played an ODI.
Pakistan’s newly appointed ODI skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi hailed the decision to host matches in Faisalabad.
“It’s a special occasion that Faisalabad is hosting an international match after 17 years,” Shaheen said on Monday. “It will be good for the fans of the city.”
The crowds are expected to come in their thousands to celebrate the return of international cricket to Faisalabad and Breetzke believes playing in front of such fervent support for the hosts will motivate his team.
“We love playing in front of big crowds and it’s very entertaining and stuff like that. It’s awesome,” Breetzke said.
“Obviously they’re going to be against us, which is in my opinion quite nice to have them up against us, so we hopefully can keep them quiet for as long as possible.”
ODI squads for Faisalabad
Pakistan: Shahen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
Proteas: Matthew Breetzke (C), Quinton de Kock, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Sinethemba Qeshile.
Start: 1pm (SA time), TV: SuperSport
