Though he has had success in T20 leagues around the world, he has no first-class experience.
As South Africa looks to deepen their player pool under a new coaching framework, hard-hitting opener Dewald Brevis can anticipate a David Warner-like transition to international cricket. Both former Central Stags coach Rob Walter and former under-19 coach Shukri Conrad have been named as the new red and white ball coaches for South Africa, respectively. Both are eager to develop young talent with Brevis as their top priority. Conrad oversaw the age-group team at the 2022 World Cup where Brevis was the tournament’s top scorer. His performance in a domestic T20 competition in October, a week before the national men’s team failed to chase down 159 in a crucial T20 World Cup encounter against the Netherlands, cemented his status as South Africa’s most talked-about batter and fueled calls for his rapid promotion. The director of cricket for South Africa, Enoch Nkwe, has heard them and is working on a plan to quickly integrate Brevis into the senior setup.
The area near Brevis is rather noisy. We are aware of his talent. He demonstrated it in the SA20, played some solid cricket, and has been quite reliable in the T20 format said Nkwe. With regard to youth, it’s likely that we’ll have to adopt a David-Warner strategy in the future, where there will be a transitional period from under-19 cricket to professional cricket via T20, then ODI, then Test cricket. We anticipate that to occur in the future.
Warner only had 20 domestic white-ball caps to his name prior to making his international debut in a T20I against South Africa, and he only participated in 11 first-class matches prior to playing his 100th Test against South Africa at the MCG. Brevis already has greater expertise in shorter formats than that. He has participated in 37 T20 tournaments, including the IPL, CPL, and SA20, and six List A games, but no first-class match. It has been difficult for Brevis to get a look-in as a member of a good Titans’ side, who are third in the four-day domestic league and include stars like Test skipper Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn, and Heinrich Klaasen, but playing him in longer forms is top on Nkwe’s mind. For SA20, Dewald Brevis was selected by MI Cape Town.
We are aware that a player like Brevis has a lot of cricket left to play, so how can we encourage him to play in that longer format? He has a lot to contribute to South African cricket, as we are aware, Nkwe added. Nkwe did not elaborate when asked directly if Conrad and Walter had discussed Brevis, choosing instead to reiterate their dedication to progress. According to him, both coaches strongly believe in taking care of the younger generation and not just tossing them into the game. It’s important to have a very clear, thorough plan for how each person who has been identified will fit into the Proteas setup.
Dewald Brevis’ ability to play for South Africa will ultimately depend on factors other than Conrad and Walter. The other two involved in the player selection are selection convener Victor Mpitsang and Patrick Moroney, who both have contracts that expire at the end of the year despite the fact that the coaching structure has changed. The men that will face England in three World Cup Super League ODIs later this month will be chosen by them. Brevis, who scored an undefeated 70 off 41 balls in the SA20 opener and 42 off 34 balls in the third game, might be selected as a wildcard for what are critical matches for South Africa given his current form.
With Nkwe claiming that the T20 and ODI formats are near to each other, it might be time for Brevis to advance to the big leagues. They need to win at least one of the ODIs to keep themselves in the running for automatic qualifying for this year’s 50-over World Cup.
