Bevon Jacobs became the latest South African-born cricketer to represent New Zealand when he made his T20I debut against the Proteas in Harare on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old was born in Pretoria but moved to New Zealand with his family at the age of three.

Raised in Auckland, Jacobs learned the game from his father and went on to represent Westlake Boys’ High School and Auckland at age-group level.

He later moved to Christchurch to study sport and recreation management at Lincoln University, and made his List A debut for Canterbury in 2023.

Jacobs made an immediate impression on the domestic circuit, smashing a 20-ball 42 in his Super Smash debut for Canterbury.

A year later, he recorded fifties in both innings of his maiden first-class match for Auckland.

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Jacobs rose to wider prominence when he was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakh (around R 625,000) at the 2024 IPL Auction, although he didn’t feature in the 2025 tournament.

Included in the Black Caps’ squad for a T20I series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, Jacobs had to wait for his opportunity – finally earning his first international cap against his country of birth.

And he made it count, scoring 44* off 31 balls in an unbeaten 103-run partnership with Tim Robinson. 

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Photo: @BlackCaps/X