7 compelling stats you need to know about Heinrich Klaasen’s international career
Power hitter Heinrich Klaasen has played his last game of international cricket after he confirmed he was retiring from the white-ball game. Klaasen had already retired from Test cricket in 2024.
While Klaasen, who is still only 33 years old, will continue to play franchise cricket around the world, he calls time on his storied international career having played four Tests, 60 ODIs, and 58 T20Is.
It’s not a huge number of games, especially compared to long-serving South African stars like AB de Villiers or Quinton de Kock, but it’s safe to say that despite the relatively low number of caps, Klaasen left an outsized impression on South African and global white-ball cricket.
A destructive middle-order batter, sharp gloveman and unflinching performer under pressure, Klaasen’s big-hitting exploits and ability to dominate world-class bowling attacks marked him out as a force to be reckoned with. Here are seven key stats and records that define the legacy of Heinrich Klaasen in international cricket:
1. Most runs in ODI innings batting at No. 5 – 174 vs Australia (Centurion, 2023)
Klaasen’s masterpiece came in September 2023, when he bludgeoned 174 runs off just 83 balls against Australia in Centurion. It was not only his career-best score, but also the highest ever score in ODIs by a player batting at number five.
The innings was a brutal exhibition of power and precision: he hit 13 sixes and 13 fours and reached his hundred in just 57 deliveries. It helped South Africa to a mammoth total and an emphatic win, and the knock was widely hailed as one of the finest ever played in the middle order.
Klaasen’s 174 remains the benchmark for players batting in the tricky No. 5 slot, where tempo, timing and toughness all need to come together.
2. Third highest career strike rate in ODIs – 117.05
Across 56 ODI innings, Klaasen amassed 2,141 runs at a strike rate of 117.05, which places him third on the all-time list for highest ODI career strike rate (minimum 1,000 runs). His strike rate sees him retire with only legendary power-hitters Andre Russell and Glenn Maxwell ahead of him.
It underscores just how consistently Klaasen was able to score rapidly. What’s more impressive is that he did this while batting mostly in the middle order, where pacesetting is harder, and in many instances under pressure situations.
3. 13 sixes in ODI innings – 10th most of all time
In that same legendary innings against Australia, Klaasen hit 13 sixes, a figure that places him 10th on the list of most sixes hit in an ODI innings.
The ball flew to all parts of Centurion as he dismantled one of the world’s most feared bowling attacks, that included the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa. Only a handful of players – including Rohit Sharma, Eoin Morgan, and Martin Guptill – have ever gone beyond 13 sixes in an ODI innings.
4. 130 runs in boundaries – 11th most in ODI innings
Another notable stat from that same onslaught against Australia: 130 of Klaasen’s 174 runs came in boundaries. That comprised 13 fours and 13 sixes – an outrageous effort that sits 11th on the all-time list for most runs in boundaries in an ODI cricket innings.
It was the kind of dominance rarely seen from someone not opening the innings. This innings, and these numbers, are why Klaasen will be remembered as one of the most explosive middle-order batters of his era.
5. 200+ runs and 10+ wicketkeeping dismissals in single ODI series
Klaasen achieved the rare feat of contributing over 200 runs with the bat and completing more than 10 dismissals as a wicketkeeper in a single bilateral ODI series. This double impact, combining elite-level glovework with game-changing middle-order batting, highlights his all-round value to the team.
Wicketkeepers often have one dominant suit – Klaasen brought balance. Few players in the modern game have matched this combination of destructive hitting and reliable keeping in a single series.
6. Fifth highest ODI partnership for fifth wicket – 222 with David Miller
In the same series against Australia in 2023, Klaasen shared a record-breaking 222-run stand for the fifth wicket with David Miller. It’s the fifth highest ever fifth-wicket partnership in ODI history, and it turned a tricky South African innings into a dominant one.
The two experienced campaigners complemented each other perfectly, with Klaasen being the aggressor and Miller the anchor. It was a defining partnership and typified Klaasen’s ability to both build and explode depending on the needs of the innings.
7. 151-run ODI partnership for sixth wicket – 20th highest of all time
In the 2023 World Cup match against England in Mumbai, Klaasen and Marco Jansen combined for a staggering 151-run stand for the sixth wicket. That partnership now sits 20th on the all-time list for highest sixth wicket stands in ODIs.
Coming in at a time when South Africa had lost quick wickets, Klaasen once again played the role of saviour, hitting a superb hundred. Jansen provided excellent support, but it was Klaasen’s presence and power that helped the team recover and post a daunting total.