Dewald Brevis deserved every headline in every publication after his national record 125* from just 56 balls in the second T20 International against Australia in Darwin on Tuesday, and it is an innings that will be remembered for some time in a format known for producing short-lasting memories.
“It was one of the best T20 innings we have seen on Australian soil, from a tourist or an Australian. It was truly special, no trick shots, just amazing skill and quality,” said former Victoria captain Adam Crosswaite, commenting on ABC radio.
“There have been big wraps on him for a couple of years now, obviously the Mumbai Indians IPL deal a couple of years ago when he was 19, and there’s always speculation that it might be more hype than substance when someone is so young,” added fellow ABC commentator and former Australian fast bowler, Jason Gillespie. “But any doubts would have been emphatically erased by that. It as incredible to watch.”
Afterwards, Brevis was torn between playing his extraordinary innings ‘up’ – or ‘down’.
“To be honest, I think that's just my natural way of hitting and I just want to go out there, enjoy i,t and have fun. And, if it's there, it happens. I'm just trying to be myself. I'm having fun and watching the ball. But it was a special moment, for sure,” Brevis said after South Africa’s series-levelling 52-run victory.
There are always ‘silent partners’ during great innings, players who run the singles and are happy to be invisible. Even front-line batsmen, senior players, who are able and willing to recognise the moment, swallow their pride and refuse to gate-crash the party. Innings like Brevis’ are rarely possible without the ‘sacrifice.’
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Dewald Brevis has the highest score by a South African in T20 Internationals ✨#SSCricket | #AUSvRSA pic.twitter.com/XOfkj2rlxJ
Tristan Stubbs has yet to play an innings anywhere close to the substance of that which Brevis produced and has been a core member of the Proteas set-up for three years. His contribution to a fourth wicket partnership of 124 with Brevis was just 31 from 22 balls. It was partly because he was struggling to find the middle of his bat, but mostly because he knew it was Brevis’ day and was delighted to take a single whenever possible to keep him on strike.
“I'm extremely grateful that Stubbo played it so well,” Brevis said. “He's a boundary hitter as well, he's a great player. He could have easily taken the strike, and he’s been on this level longer and he's got experience. So, I think, he really identified that moment, and he helped me. It's not you alone out there, it's your partner that helps. If he dotted up, or if he got boundaries, then I would have been on the other end,” admitted Brevis with obvious humility.
“So, thanks to Stubbo, and I'm excited to see what he's got in him for the next matches,” Brevis said.”
The ‘hype’ to which Gillespie referred has made the Brevis journey more difficult, but he is still just 22 years old and, after 18 months of hard graft at domestic level, his long-term journey may have started.
“This is a very special place to be with the Proteas for me, and it wasn't easy. It was tough, but I'm extremely grateful for it, that's all part of your journey, and that's what makes you stronger, and that's why I'm here now.
"It’s a big reason around how I'm playing now. I do make all the same mistakes that all of the senior players warned me about, do this, do that. And then I basically made all the mistakes. So, it's important to go through that and to be able to be here now, it's special.”