Breetzke must play, Maharaj out in front, room for Jansen - SA's ODI lessons

South Africa have won back-to-back ODI series and, despite the aberration in the two dead rubbers, have begun the process of building to the 2027 World Cup. While their success marks significant progress - their win in Australia was their fifth successive bilateral ODI series triumph over them, while victory in England was their first since 1998 - there are still some issues to iron out.

Most pressing is the long-time concern of chasing. South Africa have not successfully chased over 200 since December 2023, and have failed to chase a score of that magnitude eight times, including twice across the Australia and England tours. Both times, with the series already won, South Africa conceded over 400 before being blown away, which may not worry them too much except for what it says about their obvious strength in batting first. Since 2023, South Africa have won 16 out of 23 matches when defending a total, but need to address the approach fielding first, especially when it matters. Here are five things to note on the road to 2027.

It could, and maybe should, become a campaign slogan after Matthew Breetzke stamped his name in the stars-to-watch list with five successive ODI fifties. That it took Breetzke eight months to play those five matches speaks to how difficult it has been for him to get into the XI, but he has now made the case for staying there. You could even argue that he should be batting higher than No. 4 given that he has spent most of his career as an opener. Breetzke's aggressive approach fits in with how South Africa want to play and his square-of-the-wicket strength makes him difficult to stop. With Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen both retired from this format, Breetzke has the potential to take over the match-winning mantle and, injuries aside, should play in as many games as possible.

The jury's still out on whether the Aiden Markram-Ryan Rickelton opening pair is the one to continue with after they came together in Australia. In six matches, they have shared one century stand, two half-century partnerships and three without getting past 11. Neither has looked entirely fluent, though Markram has been in better touch in 50-over cricket than in T20Is. Rickelton has battled for rhythm throughout so the efficacy of their partnership may best be judged when both are in better touch. Given the top-order options in the squad, South Africa may also want to experiment with other combinations, including moving Breetzke up or introducing Lhuan-dre Pretorius.

Another factor that will affect the top two will be the availability of Temba Bavuma at No. 3, especially if injuries continue to interrupt his playing time. After going on tour with a mandate to manage his workload, Bavuma started five out six matches and suffered a calf strain in the fifth. While the captain has made plain his desire to lead the side at the 2027 tournament, his body may not agree and South Africa will need to start thinking of solutions. A potential one is to move Markram down to No. 3, creating an opening at the top.

A middle-order of Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs (who is also searching for form), and potentially David Miller promises much, especially with a wealth of allrounders to follow.

Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder have each made significant contributions as the fourth seamer - Bosch with two T20I three-fors in Australia, Mulder with one in the ODIs in England - and they help lengthen the batting line-up. But will there be room for one or both of them when Marco Jansen is back? Jansen has not played since the World Test Championship final where he broke his thumb, but is expected to return for the Pakistan series.

Jansen offers the left-arm variation, bounce and the ability to hit boundaries at will, which means he will likely slot straight back into South Africa's XI and that will require a rejig.

Bosch also has genuine pace and is a dangerous batter and Mulder's ability to swing the ball and move up the order as needed may result in South Africa employing a horses-for-courses approach among the three and rotating them as conditions allow.

There is also the option of the left arm-spin bowling allrounder Senuran Muthusamy, which gives South Africa additional resources.

All the talk about age may escape Keshav Maharaj, who is 35 now and will be 37 when the 2027 World Cup is played but continues to improve with experience.

Maharaj took his first ODI five-for in Australia and became the No. 1-ranked ODI bowler the next day. He went on to take eight wickets in the England series to finish as South Africa's most successful bowler and was named Player of the Series on both occasions.

While accuracy has always been his strength, Maharaj has introduced more frequent changes of pace and gives it more flight in the shorter formats, as he actively goes in search of wickets in a more attacking role than before. Maharaj's 50-over form earned him a recall to the T20I side and his performances have all but ensured he will be part of South Africa's next two World Cup squads across 2026 and 2027.

The numbers are not going to make this seem like a good argument especially as 2025 has been Lungi Ngidi's most expensive in ODIs, but that's not the full story. Ngidi's bowling strike rate of 26 is his best in the format in five years and points to a resurgence across formats. It was only three months ago that Ngidi played his first Test in ten months at the WTC final and recovered from a poor first innings to bowl a match-changing spell of 3 for 38 in the second innings. He has since played four of South Africa's five T20Is in Zimbabwe, all six white-ball games in Australia, and nine out of South Africa's 11 ODIs this year.

Considering that between 2021 and 2024, Ngidi only played 36 out of 56 ODIs and struggled (with a strike rate of over 30 each year), the consistency of this comeback has been impressive, especially in Kagiso Rabada's injury-enforced absence. Ngidi's slower ball continues to be his ace and the delivery that bowled Jos Buttler at Lord's and effectively won the series was one to remember.

South Africa's focus will shift to T20Is with the series against England, which starts on Wednesday, in what is the more immediate concern as next year's World Cup draws closer. Then they return home for a few weeks before heading to Pakistan for an all-format tour, including the start of their WTC title defence.