Brits' blitz puts her in rare company

Tazmin Brits went where only 2.92% of all cricketers have gone. Just 1.74% of them are women. More than twice as many men have been there, but their number is still tiny: 3.67%.

These are players who have scored centuries in T20Is, a club Brits joined with her 69-ball 114 not out for South Africa against the Netherlands in a T20 World Cup game.

In all, 238 of the 8,141 cricketers who have played T20Is have reached three figures. Among the 4,982 men, there are 183 century-makers. The women's equation is 55 out of 3,159.

Brits' innings began in an opening stand of 121 with Laura Wolvaardt, who was caught behind for 45 off 36. Brits and Annerie Dercksen (16-ball 37 not out) added 87 off 39 to take South Africa to 208/1.

The Dutch replied with 120/8, keeping Wolvaardt's team alive in a tight race for a semifinal spot. South Africa, who have lost the final of the last three World Cups regardless of format, will consider it a failure if they don't make it that far.

"I always like to think that somewhere along the line I'll be able to help this team win a World Cup," Brits said.

She hit 15 fours and three sixes in the highest score of the tournament so far, where Chamari Athapaththu and Danni Wyatt-Hodge have also made hundreds.

Brits credited Mandla Mashimbyi with pushing the total past 200. "I think it was at the second drinks break when he came and said, 'Sixes need to fly now.'" South Africa were 121/1 after 13.3 at that interval. They hadn't hit any sixes, but five flew in the remainder of the innings.

The lack of big hits was curious on a pitch that yielded only two wickets in the first 34.3 overs. Also odd: after reaching 100/1 in 14.3 overs, the Dutch lost seven wickets for 20 runs in 32 balls.

Having opened in 62 of her 79 T20I innings, Brits was shifted to No. 3 for the home series against India in April, scoring 64 runs in five innings. She was left out for the first two games of the T20 World Cup against Australia and Pakistan, when Sune Luus opened with Wolvaardt. Luus made one and five. Brits returned against India and scored 40 off 36 in a must-win game. Did she think she had reclaimed her opening spot?

"I don't know. Our coach, he's got his own little tricks. It seems to be working. We just trust the process. It's not the XI that defines us; it's the 15."

With a century behind her name, Brits should stay in the XI and in her current role. She has also scored seven hundreds in her 57 ODI innings, putting her among the 13.80% of players with centuries in that format (16.36% men, 8.33% women).

You could argue T20I centuries should be easier because pitches flatter batters. But the lack of deliveries and urgency required makes them scarce. A century, in any format, against any opposition, will always be a major achievement. In an increasingly splintered cricket landscape, that is a rare constant.