Plan to ease Brevis into Proteas team

Cricket SA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe says there is a plan in place to blood teenage sensation Dewald Brevis into international cricket.

Brevis is the talk of the town, his natural batting ability and ferocious nature have seen him marked as a top prospect. The 19-year-old is known as “Baby AB” in cricket circles; he got the name because his playing style is similar to Proteas great AB de Villiers. 

The young batsman is currently on show for the MI Cape Town in the Betway SA20 and he has impressed so far. Brevis has scored 112 runs in three games, helping his side put an early charge for a semifinal spot.

Nkwe said they needed him to get more games under his belt and then he would be eased into the T20 and ODI sides and eventually the Test team. 

“There’s a lot of noise around Brevis, we know how good he is, he has shown it now in the SA20, he has played some good cricket and has been consistent especially when it comes to T20 cricket,” said Nkwe during a press conference at the CSA headquarters. 

“We do understand that someone like Brevis still has a lot of cricket that he needs to play, especially in that longer format but how do we get him to that longer format because we know he can offer a lot to South African cricket? Not only him, there are so many younger cricketers in the domestic level that are probably going the same route.

“In terms of these youngsters, the reality moving forward, we might have to have to do the David Warner approach, where there’s going to be the transition phases from the U19  into professional. It might be through T20 cricket, then ODI and then Test cricket, that’s something that we foresee happening in the future,” he said. 

Meanwhile, SA20 action intensifies this week. Today the Joburg Super Kings will welcome the Pretoria Capitals at Wanderers (5.30pm), and the two teams will battle again the following day at SuperSport Park at the same time.