Ryan Rickelton on his century against Afghanistan and his desire to be a three-format player like Travis Head and Shubman Gill.

Kagiso Rabada took three wickets as the Proteas crushed Afghanistan in Karachi.

Photo: Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images

Opener Ryan Rickelton struck a maiden ODI hundred as South Africa routed Afghanistan by 107 runs in the Champions Trophy in Karachi on Friday.

Rickelton cracked a 106-ball 103 with fours boundaries and a six to anchor South Africa’s imposing total of 315-6 in the Group B match at the National Stadium.

The Proteas’ pace attack of Kagiso Rabada (3-36), Wiaan Mulder (2-36) and Lungi Ngidi (2-56) then dismissed highly-fancied Afghanistan for just 208 in 43.3 overs.

South Africa blunted the threat of Afghanistan’s slow bowlers with star leg-spinner Rashid Khan going wicketless for 59 runs in his 10 overs.

Rahmat Shah top-scored for Afghanistan with a fighting 92-ball 90 with nine fours and a six before he was the last man out.

Chasing a formidable target, Afghanistan desperately needed a fast start but lost flamboyant openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 10 and Ibrahim Zadran for only 17 by the 10th over.

Sediqullah Atal fell for 16 while captain Hashmatullah Shahidi went without scoring as Afghanistan were left teetering at 50-4.

Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai (18) took the score to 89 before Rabada and Marco Jansen, who got rid of Mohammad Nabi, struck to effectively end Afghanistan’s hopes.

Rashid Khan briefly entertained the crowd with a quickfire 13-ball 18 including a six and three boundaries.

HIGHLIGHTS: Proteas vs Afghanistan (Champions Trophy)

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma hailed a team performance.

“It’s a clinical performance. We got the rub of the green with the toss but it was a brave decision to bat first not knowing how it would play. We took care of that, got a competitive score and then were clinical with the ball.”

Shahid rued a flopped batting show.

“I think the batting was not good enough today,” said Shahidi. “The pitch was helping their bowlers. We will move forward and play quality cricket in the next two games.”

Earlier, Rickelton was ably assisted by Bavuma (58), Rassie van der Dussen (52) and Aiden Markram (52*) to steer South Africa to a solid total after they won the toss and batted.

Nabi, who finished with 2-51, provided an early breakthrough with his first ball by dismissing opener Tony de Zorzi, caught at mid-on for 11.

Rickelton and Bavuma then added 129 for the second wicket as Afghanistan toiled in the field.

Bavuma hit five fours in his 76-ball knock before he was finally caught off a short Nabi delivery to give some joy to hundreds of Afghan fans in an otherwise sparse crowd.

Rickelton, who has two Test centuries to his name but a previous best of only 91 in ODIs, completed his first white-ball century with a single.

Two runs later, however, he was gone, victim of an unlucky run out.

Coming down the pitch to drive Rashid, Rickelton was forced to turn quickly and dive back into his crease as the bowler collected and fired the ball to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Rickelton appeared to make his ground but replays showed that his bat was slightly raised so not in the crease when Gurbaz whipped off the bails.

Van der Dussen hammered two sixes and three fours in his 46-ball knock before falling to spinner Noor Ahmad in the 43rd over.

It was left to Markram to take the Proteas past the 300-mark, clubbing six fours and a six in a 36-ball 52* that helped the Proteas to add 50 runs in the last five overs.

Australia meet England in another Group B clash in Lahore on Saturday.

Pakistan, India, New Zealand and Bangladesh are in Group A. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.

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Photo: Chris Hyde-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Opener Ryan Rickelton struck a maiden ODI hundred to guide South Africa to an imposing total in their Champions Trophy clash against Afghanistan in Karachi on Friday.

The 28-year-old left-hander scored a 106-ball 103, with seven fours and a six, while captain Temba Bavuma (58), Rassie van der Dussen (52) and Aiden Markram (52*) also chipped in with half-centuries as South Africa made 315-6 after winning the toss.

On a flat pitch full of cracks, the Proteas batsmen negated Afghanistan’s quality spin attack with leg-spinner Rashid Khan conceding 59 runs in his 10 wicketless overs.

It was fellow spinner Mohammad Nabi, who finished with 2-51, who provided an early breakthrough with his first ball by dismissing Tony de Zorzi caught at mid-on for 11.

Rickelton and Bavuma then added 129 for the second wicket, forcing the Afghanistan bowlers to toil hard for another breakthrough.

Bavuma, who hit five fours in his 76-ball knock, was finally caught off a short Nabi delivery to give some joy to hundreds of Afghan fans in an otherwise another sparse crowd.

Rickelton, who has two Test centuries to his name but a previous best of only 91 in ODIs, completed his first white-ball century with a single.

Two runs later, however, he was gone, victim of an unlucky run out.

Coming down the pitch to drive Rashid, Rickelton was forced to turn quickly and dive back into his crease as the bowler collected and fired the ball to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Rickelton appeared to make his ground but the replays showed that his bat was slightly raised so not in the crease when Gurbaz whipped off the bails.

Van der Dussen hammered two sixes and three fours in his 46-ball knock before falling to spinner Noor Ahmad in the 43rd over.

It was left to Markram to take the Proteas past the 300-mark, clubbing six fours and a six in a 36-ball 52* that helped them add 50 runs in the last five overs.

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Photo: Rizwan Tabassum/AFP via Getty Images

Mastering all trades in international cricket is becoming a rarity but Ryan Rickelton hopes to prove he has what it takes to buck the trend.

The in-form Proteas batsman has shown his class in both the shortest and longest forms of the game in recent times, starting 2025 with a magnificent 259 against Pakistan in a Test at Newlands and quickly translating that form into the SA20 to help his MI Cape Town side lift the trophy.

Rickelton’s next challenge comes in the ODI format as the Proteas go for glory at the returning Champions Trophy.

The 28-year-old has a strong domestic 50-over record and is relishing the challenge of switching formats once more, boosted by advice from a South African legend, in a bid to help his country succeed.

“The three-format player thing has faded away, it’s really difficult to fire on all three at the same time,” he said. “But if you can ID a method and a way you want to play, especially in the two white-ball groups, that will give you the best chance.

“If you look at the guys doing it really well, your Travis Heads, your Rohit Sharmas, they play consistently in the same way across all formats – especially Travis, he is probably the leader at the moment in terms of three-format play.

“I’ve worked a lot with Hashim Amla in the past few years and he has been a phenomenal coach for me.

“He was a master of off-side play and he says sometimes when I get a bit excited, I look too leg-side. He’s always encouraging me to open up the off-side a bit more, so he always gets excited when he sees me cover drive.

“He’ll notice things in the nets, he’ll ask me why I was thinking certain things, all the stuff you don’t see on TV.”

Rickelton’s first tour as part of the Proteas squad came in Pakistan in 2021 and he returns hoping for an opportunity at the top of the order in a lineup packed with firepower.

He is fresh from 336 runs at a strike rate of 178.72 in the SA20, form he will hope to take forward to Pakistan, and is set to battle it out with Tony de Zorzi to partner captain Temba Bavuma.

“This ODI team has been a really difficult one to get in to over the past couple of years,” he said.

“Quinny [Quinton de Kock] retiring has opened the door for me to hopefully get a few games as the rest of the order is pretty locked in. It’s a very experienced squad, the guys have played a lot of international cricket together.

“I am sure the guys will be confident and it could potentially be the last one for a lot of the guys, so there’s no doubt they are up for it.”

South Africa were runners-up at last year’s T20 World Cup and, in the months after the Champions Trophy, have another shot at silverware when they take on Australia in the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s – a prospect their hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman is already eagerly eyeing up.

“To play Australia at Lord’s in a one-off final is something none of us would have ever thought possible growing up,” said Rickelton, who was also a promising rugby and squash player in his youth – as well as breaking a Gauteng weightlifting record at U14 level.

“It will be incredible. Lots of my family and friends are all in London as well and I’m sure half of South Africa will be at that game – and probably half the Aussies as well.

“We are all looking forward to it but it’s still a while away and we have a hell of a lot of cricket to come.”

That starts with the Champions Trophy – a competition South Africa won in 1998, when it was known as the KnockOut Trophy.

Rickelton has played six ODIs in his career so far, earning a shot in the format after finishing as the leading run-scorer in South Africa’s domestic 50-over competition in 2022-23.

He averages a shade over 46 in List A cricket, with six centuries to his name, and hopes his country’s familiarity with the format will lead to a seamless transition.

“It might take a few days to get used to but growing up in South Africa, 50-over cricket is a format we play a lot of, so it’s just about tying back into that,” he said.

“I don’t think it’ll be too challenging in terms of adjusting the mindset. It’s just about trying to adjust to those conditions. There’s so much time in 50-over cricket and it’s easy to forget that.

“The wickets in Pakistan can be quite good to bat on, it swings under lights and it gets quite skiddy. It will take a bit of time to adjust from the bouncier wickets here in South Africa but a lot of our guys have played plenty of times out there. We’ll have a chat, figure that out and get locked in.”

Photo: @ProteasMenCSA

Kagiso Rabada struck twice and Marco Jansen once to put Pakistan in deep trouble at Newlands.

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

Pakistan were reeling in response to a relentless Proteas batting performance on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands.

Pakistan were 64-3 at the close after double centurion Ryan Rickelton led South Africa to a first-innings total of 615.

Kagiso Rabada struck twice and Marco Jansen once when Pakistan started their innings. The tourists were effectively four down because opening batsman Saim Ayub was ruled out of the match with a broken right ankle.

Babar Azam, forced to open the batting in Ayub’s absence, was 31* at the close with his side still 551 runs behind.

Left-handed opening batsman Rickelton made a chanceless 259, South Africa’s joint seventh highest Test score, before he was seventh man out with the total on 557.

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma opted to keep Pakistan in the field until the last man, 18-year-old debutant Kwena Maphaka, was out 40 minutes after tea.

By then, South Africa had added 299 runs to their overnight 316-4, scoring at almost five runs an over.

HIGHLIGHTS: Proteas vs Pakistan (2nd Test, Day 2)

Resuming on 176, Rickelton was content to play the anchor role while Kyle Verreynne hit 100 off 147 balls in a sixth-wicket partnership of 148 off 222 deliveries.

Verreynne holed out to deep midwicket after an innings which included five sixes as well as nine fours, but Rickelton continued to bat flawlessly while Jansen thrashed a 42-ball half-century.

A rapid seventh-wicket stand of 86 was ended when Rickelton was caught at mid-on going for a big hit after batting for 607 minutes. He faced 343 balls and hit 29 fours and three sixes.

Jansen was out for 62 off 54 balls, but Keshav Maharaj hit 40 off 35 deliveries as the bowlers continued to take a pounding.

South Africa’s innings ended when Maphaka was bowled second ball for nought to become the 100th Test wicket for Mohammad Abbas.

At 18 years 270 days, Maphaka became South Africa’s youngest Test player when the match started on Friday.

Abbas took 3-94, while wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan held six catches in the South African innings.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood was caught at first slip off Rabada for two in the first over of his team’s reply.

Kamran Ghulam was bowled by Jansen for 12 and Saud Shakeel was out for nought, providing a second catch for David Bedingham at first slip off Rabada.

Pakistan were floundering at 20-3, before Babar and Rizwan put on an unbeaten 44 for the fourth wicket as the day’s play ended.

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Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

Newlands gave Ryan Rickelton a standing ovation after he brought up his Test double century on Saturday morning.

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

Ryan Rickelton on scoring 176* on day one of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands and his 235-run partnership with Temba Bavuma.

Ryan Rickelton and captain Temba Bavuma starred for the Proteas on the opening day of the Newlands Test.

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images