A South African adolescent who based his technique on Proteas icon Instagram videos makes waves with a 57-ball knock that included 13 sixes.
Dewald Brevis, a teenage South African batting prodigy who scored a scorching 162 off just 57 balls yesterday, later admitted he learned the game by watching videos of AB de Villiers on the microblogging app Instagram.
In a domestic T20 contest in Potchefstroom, the 19-year-old added a fresh chapter to his already-expanding résumé by hammering bowlers for 13 sixes and as many boundaries.
Only Chris Gayle and Aaron Finch had higher individual scores in T20 history than the knock, which was tied for third place.
While Australia’s T20 captain Finch blasted 172 for Australia against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in the middle of 2018, Gayle owns the record for the highest T20 innings with his 175no from 66 balls, which included 17 sixes.
Brevis made a splash at the U19 World Cup at the beginning of the year, scoring 506 runs in six games—the most ever in the history of the competition—and was later involved in a three-way bidding war at the IPL auction, where the Mumbai Indians eventually acquired the then-18-year-old for about A$500,000.
Brevis claimed that the nickname “Baby AB” was an intended parody because of how much the South African legend’s stance and shots resemble his own.
Brevis said to the host broadcaster, “I’ve watched a lot of videos of AB and all these guys, how they hit the ball, on Instagram since I was young and still do today.
“I appreciate AB’s natural bat swing because it gives you a mental image of where the ball is going, how the bat is falling, and everything else. So I make an effort to watch as much as I can and to just be myself.”
Brevis, a part-time leg-spinner with 12 wickets in 32 games, modeled that aspect of his action after another legendary player.
Brevis is prepared to bide his time on the domestic circuit, despite some commentators’ calls for him to be hurried into international cricket. He participated in seven games during his first IPL season, and the Mumbai Indians have signed him to play for their team in the upcoming T20 tournament in South Africa.
He has also participated in the CPL for St. Kitts and Nevis, and he will shortly be traveling to Sri Lanka to compete in the Lanka Premier League.
When asked about his aspirations for the world, Brevis replied, “This is the next stepping stone. “I think that those in charge have the finest judgment and that everything turns out as it should.
Brevis has taken the opposite route, having been raised on a diet of T10 cricket, when the majority of stars would have transitioned to T20 cricket after playing 50-over matches.
There are fewer balls in T10 cricket, thus the pressure to score right away is greater, according to Brevis.
“So you learn to adjust and to find ways in your strengths to gain runs, so it’s rapid batting in T10s and then when you get to T20 cricket it’s just a minor little tweak, but you’re still constantly positive and seeking to score every single ball,” the author says.
Brevis reached fifty after 18 balls, had a century in 35 balls (the joint fifth-fastest in T20 history), and had reached 150 after 17 balls.
