On Thursday (February 6), the Hermann siblings were involved in a rare occurrence in Qualifier 2 of SA20 2025 between Paarl Royals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
Paarl skipper David Miller elected to bat first at Centurion, but his side were rocked early as Mitchell Owen departed for a three-ball duck in the second over. In at No.3 was Rubin Hermann, coming off a good run of form with two fifties to his name in eight innings, in his maiden SA20 season. Alongside teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius, they added 99 for the second wicket off just 62 balls before the opener departed for 59.
Even as Miller and Dinesh Karthik came and went, Hermann continued to keep the innings together, bringing up his third half-century of the season off 35 balls. He batted until the end of the innings, remaining not out on 81 off 53 balls. Hermann's knock alongside a cameo of 22* (11) from Andile Phehlukwayo lifted Paarl to 175-4 in their 20 overs.
Match Qualifier 2, Paarl Royals vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape
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- Ball by ball Over
In the chase, SEC also lost an early wicket in the form of David Bedingham, bringing the other Hermann, Jordan – Rubin's younger brother – to the crease. Just like his elder brother, Jordan put on a big partnership with the left-handed opener of his side (Tony de Zorzi).
de Zorzi was dismissed for 78 in the 15th over, but once again, the Hermann in the partnership carried on – and scored an unbeaten half-century, 69 off 48 balls, to take SEC over the line with four balls to spare.
Jordan has had a difficult season so far in the SA20. Before Thursday's knock, he had recorded four single-digit scores and just one fifty in eight innings. He did have a solid year last time around, with 295 runs in 11 innings, including his maiden T20 century.
The achievement of two brothers scoring half-centuries for opposing teams in the same T20 match is quite rare, given that either internationally or domestically, most siblings end up representing the same team. It makes the opportunity arise mainly in franchise cricket, and even that requires both to bat enough to score fifties.
It is a feat not yet achieved by some of the most well-known brothers in T20 cricket – the Husseys (Michael and David), the Pathans (Yusuf and Irfan), the Currans (Tom, Sam and Ben) or the Akmals (Kamran and Umar).
It's definitely not the first instance though: in a 2019 BBL game, both Shaun and Mitchell Marsh hit fifties, for Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers respectively.
Marius Hermann: I could not be happier
In a passionate interview after the game, the players' father, Marius Hermann, said, "Today is what dreams are made of. Someone from the press asked me for photos of the boys when they were little guys with cricket bats in their hand. I was thinking when looking at those photos today, this is what dreams are made of. I mean, at that age, who would have thought that one day, they would play in the second-biggest tournament in the world, in a semi-final.
"Both pretty much top-scorers for their teams or pretty much take their teams home. It is absolutely the stuff that dreams are made of and I am so, so proud. Not that I'm not even [not] proud, I don't even know how to describe how I feel right now. Just so happy for Rubin, so happy for Jordan, happy for the Risers because I think the three-peat is on right now. I could not be happier."
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