The batter who once came from athletics to cricket has etched her name into the record books by scoring five ODI centuries in a single year.
In the tournament’s opening match, she was dismissed for a low score. But in the very next game, Tazmin Brits returned to her usual form. With another century this year, the South African opener has entered the record books once again.
In the Women’s ODI World Cup on Monday, Brits played a match-winning knock of 101 runs against New Zealand during a run chase in Indore. Her 89-ball innings was studded with 15 fours and a six.
This was her fifth century of the year in this format — making her the first-ever woman cricketer to score five ODI hundreds in a single calendar year.
The 34-year-old Brits broke the record previously held by Indian opener Smriti Mandhana, who had scored four ODI centuries in a calendar year twice (in 2024 and 2025). Mandhana still has the opportunity to equal Brits’ feat later in the ongoing World Cup.
Brits started this year in remarkable fashion, hitting a century right at the beginning. During the tri-nation series in Colombo last April, she scored 109 off 107 balls against India.
She then went on to score centuries in three consecutive innings across series against the West Indies and Pakistan. In June, she struck 101 off 91 balls against the West Indies. On Pakistan’s tour last month, she scored an unbeaten 101 off 121 balls in the first match, followed by a destructive career-best 171* off 141 balls in the next game.
Carrying that form into the World Cup, Brits struggled in the opening match, getting out for just 5 runs against England as South Africa suffered a heavy 10-wicket defeat.
However, in the second match, South Africa bounced back brilliantly, beating New Zealand by six wickets. Chasing 232, they reached the target with 55 balls to spare, thanks to Brits’ magnificent century — which also earned her the Player of the Match award.
Brits now has seven ODI centuries in just 41 innings, a record no one else has achieved in fewer games. The previous best was by former Australian captain Meg Lanning, who took 44 innings to reach seven centuries. No other woman has done it in fewer than 50 innings.
Her cricket journey is equally fascinating. As a child, cricket wasn’t her main focus — she was an exceptional athlete. In fact, she won the gold medal in javelin at the 2008 Junior World Championships. She was even preparing for the 2012 London Olympics, but a devastating car accident ended her athletics career. After that, she turned her full attention to cricket.
Brits made her international debut in 2018 in T20 cricket. However, it took her a few more years to break into the ODI side — making her debut in January 2021 at the age of 30. Her start wasn’t impressive, as she scored just 4 runs while batting at number five. She was promoted to open the innings in the next match but still couldn’t produce big scores. Even after trying her at number three in several innings, success didn’t come immediately.
Her first ODI fifty arrived in her 20th innings, and from there, she never looked back. She scored her maiden century in the very next match — and another just three innings later.
Now, Brits is one of the most in-form batters in world cricket, having scored seven centuries in her last 21 ODI innings.
No other woman cricketer over the age of 30 has ever managed seven ODI centuries.
In 11 innings this year, Brits has scored 749 runs at an average of 83.22 and a strike rate of 96.14. The only player with more runs during this period is Smriti Mandhana, who has 959 runs, but from 16 innings.
