Exclusive: Matthew Breetzke Remains Hopeful of a 'Proper Run' in the Proteas Test Team

Matthew Breetzke's first and only Test lasted only four deliveries, about two minutes as the the bright young talent was bowled out by Bangladesh's Taijul Islam on a spinning track in Mirpur during the first of two Tests in the subcontinent.

The 26-year-old top-order batter has dominated domestic cricket in South Africa and eventually caught the eye of Test coach Shukri Conrad.

A Tough Debut

In an exclusive interview with SportsBoom's Ongama Gcwabe, Breetzke described how tough it was to experience failure of that nature on debut.

"It was tough because I went on that tour not thinking I was going to play and then I found out the day before and that was a dream come true first of all and then it didn't go the way I wanted it to go I only lasted four or five balls," said Breetzke.

"It was tough because I wanted to get another crack at it but then the next Test they had to go with a different Test balance which I completely understood."

Though disappointed, the young batter remains positive that he could come back stronger in the near future."

"I'm so used to failing now and getting over it and coming back stronger so it is what it is," said Breetzke.

"There's not much you can do. You get your head down, work harder and keep coming. That's the only way I think of it."

Sitting on the sidelines

Breetzke is part of Conrad's strong 16-player Test squad that is set to take on Pakistan in the upcoming two-Test series.

The youngster is likely to sit on the sidelines during the series as he is in the squad as a backup batter. Describing how he handles sitting on the sidelines in a number of series', Breetzke admitted the difficulty of not playing but remains hopeful that another opportunity will arise.

"It's not easy because you want to be playing but the nice thing with this Test environment is that the communication is pretty clear from Shukri and the guys are a really good bunch of guys," Breetzke told SportsBoom.com. 

"So, that helps in terms of spending like two weeks away from home but you've got a good bunch of guys. In saying that, it's never easy sitting on the sidelines. You have to create your own training method routine, keep your mind on the right track, and not let it stray. It's not easy, but with this environment it makes it a lot easy.

"When I do get my opportunity again, hopefully it does go my way and I get a proper run of it which I'm sure Shuks is quite fair with that stuff - if he's going to give you a run, he'll give you a fair run. Hopefully, when that opportunity does come I can grab it with both hands.

"The communication has been quite clear that I will be the backup batter. If anything happens to any of the batters then I'll obviously be in but other than that I will not be playing."