South African U19’s Dewald Brevis possesses, in various shapes and forms, the attributes of world cricket superstar AB de Villiers, who is the teen’s foremost idol in terms of his style-of-play.
Brevis is currently schooled at Affies (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool), the alma mater of De Villiers, and this symbolic standpoint has aided the 17-year-old in discovering his own alternative identity as a cricketer.
“AB de Villiers has always been one of my role-models; from a young age, growing up, I [used to] watch him play,” Brevis told Cricket Fanatics Magazine.
“I always wore my AB de Villiers shirt that my mother made for me. [I just love] the way he plays. He has a great mindset and he likes to entertain people.
“From a young age I was the same – I also wanted to entertain and put up a big show whenever I batted.
“AB is someone I look up to and if I can play only 10 per cent like him I’ll be happy. I’d love that.”
Brevis’s SA U19 shirt also displayed the number ‘17’ on his back, which was the same number De Villiers wore since making his ODI debut for the Proteas back in 2005.
“I met AB for the first time at Affies and we sort of had a relationship since then. I asked him then if I could play with the no.17 [shirt] and he said ‘sure, play with it. That’s perfect’.
“Growing up and having him as my role-model and being someone I really looked up to in the cricket world, the number 17 has always stood out to me,” he said, adding that he was speechless and “stunned” when he first met De Villiers at the time.
“It was an amazing experience – I was just stunned. I was just listening to all the stories he told and I was amazed.
“I was like a small child – I just couldn’t get a word out,” Brevis quipped.
With the likes of De Villiers and Faf du Plessis having went to Affies, Brevis used their narratives as a means of heeding to his own calling in the future to come.
“The first time I went to Affies we had a tour through the school and in the cricket clubhouse there were the shirts of all the Proteas players, as well as all the players who’d played overseas,” he recalled.
“The shirt that stuck out was the one with the number 17 and ‘De Villiers’ on the back. That [resembles] me as a player and it’s a big dream for me to represent my country, while playing all over the world.”
Brevis showed some exemplary form at the CSA Cubs Week that took place in February, which casts an eye on the budding player he is developing into.
Having represented the Titans Cubs, who came second overall behind the Cobras Cubs, Brevis racked up scores of 0, 25, 41*, 58 and 62 – scoring a combined average of 46.50.
He scored a total strike-rate of 96.88 – one of the highest in the week – that included 21 fours and six 6s.
Now that the SA U19 side had to adapt to red-ball cricket, playing three-day matches against a select couple of provincial sides, Brevis said several of the players were forced to test themselves in the unknown.
“It was a first for a few of the guys in our team,” he said, “and it’s a different game. Everyone has to learn and develop the skills [needed] for the three-day format.
“Everyone is learning and following the coach’s advice. But the best way to learn is by actually playing. One of the great things in the SA U19 team is that we are allowed to make mistakes.
“Everyone is going to make mistakes and I believe if everyone is giving their all then they’ll improve by 100 per cent every game.”
The young side has made steady progress throughout the campaign after suffering a heavy defeat to Northerns – Brevis’s home province – in their first three-day game.
They went on to win two of their three one-day matches, the last of which was also against Northerns, wherein Brevis scored a rapid 40-ball 54.
“The coaches never had negative things to say to us,” Brevis said of the mentality that was incorporated into their camp.
“They just told us to keep playing and to back our skills. That’s why everyone went out there to play with an aggressive mindset.
“That means to play low-risk cricket, but [at the same time] keeping that aggressiveness.”
He added that it is this approach that the squad will be taking with them when they go on another potential tour in August.
The side aims to learn and gain as much experience as they can against senior players and experienced campaigners, which they’re using as a yardstick for developing a winning mentality.
The SA U19 outfit is set to wrap up their tour with another three-day encounter against Northern Cape, starting on 26 March.
Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
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