Who is Sarel Erwee? Five facts and figures

Opening batter Sarel Erwee scored a maiden century for the Proteas in just his second Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday.

Erwee’s knock of 108 set the South Africans on their way in the second Test, finishing the day on 238/3, after losing badly in the first Test last week. The tourists need to win the match to square the series.

But, who is Erwee? We take a look.

Vital stats

Erwee is 32 years old, having been born in Pietermaritzburg on 10 November 1989. He is a left-handed batter and right-arm off break bowler. He attended St Charles College and plays for the Dolphins in KZN. His middle name is Johannes.

Career averages

The experienced opener has a good, if not spectacular, record at all levels of the game. In 97 first class matches, he’s scored 5,941 runs at 38.57, according to cricinfo, and a List A average of 40.10 from 74 matches. His T20 record is also decent, with an average of 24, and strike-rate of 123 from 70 games.

Recent form

Like his team-mates Erwee failed with the bat in the first Test last week at Hagley Oval. He managed scores of just 10 and 0, but in December last year, playing for South Africa A against the A team of India he showed what he is capable of against international opposition.

He scored 38 and 41 in the first match and 75 and 97 in the second match, both in Bloemfontein. In a first class match against the Warriors at the end of January he also scored 93.

Debut thoughts

Looking back at his first Test for the Proteas, Erwee, said: “I always knew the intensity would be high and there would be no let-up, but the biggest surprise was that the intensity just never went away. It did not seep away, it was there every minute and every ball.”

Second Test hopes

Just two days ago, ahead of the second Test, Erwee said: “We face a lot of tough conditions at home and it’s about adapting to them and making peace with the conditions. Mentally we have gone over our game-plans and processes.

“We need to stick to what we did right and those things that didn’t work, we need to adapt to be better. We mustn’t overthink it, but there were a few mistakes made and we need to put those right.”