Proteas coach Walter to unleash batting wunderkind Brevis against Aussies

The focus will be on South African wunderkind Dewald Brevis during the forthcoming white ball series against Australia. 

The Proteas take on Australia in three T20s and five ODIs from the end of the month where the hugely promising Titans batter is expected to take baby steps into international cricket. 

Brevis played and impressed for South Africa A in the recent tour to Sri Lanka and Proteas white ball coach Rob Walter has included him in both squads for his first real test at this level. 

A lot has been said about the explosive right-hander who came into the spotlight during the 2022 Under-19 World Cup where he topped the batting charts with 506 runs and was Player of the Tournament.

He has also been part of T20 leagues around the world, notably with the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, MI Cape Town in the SA20 and the MI New York in Major League Cricket in the US. 

Walter said the Proteas' brains trust have had conversations about proper management of the 20-year-old, because of the immense weight of expectations on him. 

“I certainly won’t be calling him ‘Baby AB’, we will leave AB [de Villiers] to be AB,” said Walter, urging people not to compare Brevis with legendary former Proteas captain AB de Villiers. 

“There is expectation, he is a young guy who is fairly grounded and for me it is to create an environment for him to express himself. You can expect a young guy like him to knock his head a few times as he navigates his way through international cricket. 

“I am just looking forward to giving him the opportunity and platform to express himself and show what he is capable of. He’s already had the experience in a number of different T20 leagues around the world where he has rubbed shoulders with a lot of top professionals in the game. He is like a sponge and he is excited to get on the park.” 

Walter said Brevis will get an opportunity to bat at four, five or six in the middle order. 

“It is obviously great to have Dewald in the squad, he performed well in Sri Lanka [for SA A), domestically and he has been involved in a number of leagues internationally. It is nice to be able to give him an opportunity.

“He is one of our up-and-coming youngsters. We want to broaden our base a bit and this Aussie series is the perfect opportunity to give him a run. For now, he is going to be in the middle order. We have identified him as someone who can develop his finishing skills.

“He plays spin very well, those guys who bat in that position are going to be exposed to the team’s best spinners. We also wanted to add a bit of firepower to the death phase of our batting and we see him filling that role.”