Dewald Brevis was the shining star of the beautiful spectacle that was the opening match of the SA20. At age 19, he has, on South African Cricket’s most important day in close to a decade, announced himself as the face of the game for years to come.

This wasn’t the first time the global cricket community has encountered Dewald as he was player of the tournament at the U19 World Cup, has given a good account for himself already at the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and who could forget his 162 in the recent CSA T20 tournament where we were all left in wonder.

With all that he has accomplished so far, last night under the lights at Newlands, he managed to produce what will be his most important innings at a time when everyone was watching. A lot of his previous achievements were noted and applauded post the fact and not live.

Tuesday night was most likely the biggest and most relevant audience he has played under with the eye of the Cricketing world watching.

Dewald has been on the radar for years and his case was one where the talent was evident but the question was when do you introduce him to the rigours of international cricket? Was he ready to take that step up?

Some, including this writer, have said that it isn’t his time right now and that he should give more consistent performances at First Class level before he makes that step up. Earning his stripes like everyone else, but Brevis isn’t like everyone else, is he?

Tuesday night he announced that he was ready, not having played a First Class 4-day match and a handful of list matches, Dewald was the MVP (70 off 41 not out) on a night that saw a half-century from World Cup-winning captain Jos Buttler, 42 from David Miller with cameos from World Cup winners such as Jason Roy and Eion Morgan.

The eye test with him is undeniable and will be the best show in the SA20. Fans from around the country will flock to see him because he is certainly entertaining when he gets going.

South African Cricket is looking for world-class talents as the best in the domestic game are struggling to make that step up. Earning your stripes is important but our system needs to find a way to accommodate generational talents such as his and we have done so before with the likes of Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada and AB de Villiers getting into the national setup early in their professional careers.

Now the same needs to happen for Dewald. Dewald is on the national selectors’ radar but now he should be in every selection list going forward for the next 15 years across all formats.

South African Cricket is at a place where is it asking for players to put their hands up, and knock down that selection door.

Dewald Brevis, last night you did just that. You, sir, have my attention!