Johannesburg — It helps that he has got talent oozing from every pore, but Dewald Brevis is also a level-headed kid, who has used 21st century technology to learn and fuel a love of cricket that is set to make him millions of dollars.
Brevis ripped the sport’s spotlight away from the T20 World Cup on Monday, with a remarkable performance for his home province the Titans, scoring 162 off only 57 balls in a Cricket South Africa T20 Challenge match against the Knights in Potchefstroom.
Nevermind there were only a handful of students dotting the grass embankment at JB Marks Oval, the sound off the bat and the style with which he played was heard and captured by satellite, so was broadcast around the world.
By mid afternoon, Brevis, still only 19, was trending globally.
We’ve seen special T20 knocks, very few better than this one from Dewald Brevis - 100* off 35 balls 🤯
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 31, 2022
𝐔![CDATA[]]>𝐍![CDATA[]]>𝐑![CDATA[]]>𝐄![CDATA[]]>𝐀![CDATA[]]>𝐋 𝐛![CDATA[]]>𝐚![CDATA[]]>𝐥![CDATA[]]>𝐥 𝐬![CDATA[]]>𝐭![CDATA[]]>𝐫![CDATA[]]>𝐢![CDATA[]]>𝐤![CDATA[]]>𝐢![CDATA[]]>𝐧![CDATA[]]>𝐠! 🏏#CSAT20Challenge pic.twitter.com/F5Y5fc27D9
“(Monday) was amazing,” Brevis said.
It truly was.
His shotmaking was mesmerising, the straight hits, the lofted cover drives, the slog sweeps and whatever the hell that behind the back flick off a 146km/h bouncer from Gerald Coetzee was - “DB17” delivered.
There is already been an enormous amount of hype around Brevis following his exploits at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year. Those performances led to a R6million contract in the IPL — he also played in the Caribbean and Sri Lankan T20 leagues and will feature in the new SA20 tournament in January.
On Monday, he put his name up among the greats who have starred in the shortened format - Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, and the late Andrew Symonds - with his astonishing display.
“It’s a very special day. Things haven’t really sunk in yet,” Brevis said.
“I’m just grateful for the talent that God gave me and the opportunity to showcase (that). It’s really special, to be able to live my life to the fullest playing cricket.”
Brevis is a cricket tragic, but in the way of a kid born in 2003, his love for the game is fuelled not by old books, but rather by laptops, tablets and his mobile phone. He said on Monday that he watches countless videos of the former greats — including of course his boyhood idol AB de Villiers — and not just to sate his thirst for the game, but to learn too.
“From young, I’ve really liked watching videos of players and how they bat, and what their bat swings look like,” he said. “It’s as if you watch it a lot and you see how the bat arc goes and it stays in the back of your head, but you stay true to yourself and you play your game. That’s even how I started bowling leg-spin, I watched Shane Warne bowl. It's something that comes naturally, and it’s about loving the game, I really love the game. I love to watch videos of players.”
We’re witnessing greatness 🤩
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 31, 2022
Dewald Brevis’ talent knows no bounds!
What a catch! 👐#CSAT20Challenge pic.twitter.com/pbnLZVror9
After wolfing down an omelette at breakfast he had a premonition of what was to come in the afternoon. He tapped his Titans opening partner Jivashen Pillay on the shoulder and told him that “today we are taking them down”.
“Every single game, you tell yourself, ‘if the conditions are tough, the tougher the conditions, the better I’m going to play,’” Brevis said.
“Wherever it is you are positive, you always err on the positive side, to be positive out there if it's tough conditions and the bowlers are bowling well, you always want to be positive, taking on the first three balls — don’t wait for the last three balls, otherwise the bowler’s on top.”
That’s the mindset of a player with complete belief in himself, but he’s far from arrogant. While there has been plenty of talk that he should have been called up to the Proteas squad — even for the current T20 World Cup — Brevis feels he is right where he belongs.
“This is a stepping stone and I believe that the people in control know (what’s) best. It’s just that I feel everything works out as it should,” Brevis said.
“Where I am in my life, this is where I have to be, I have to do this, this is part of my journey. I believe that everything works out as it should and I am at the right place where I need to be.
“We never know what will happen, so I must stay in the moment and use the opportunities.”
IOL Sport