South Africa U19 batter Dewald Brevis has ended his U19 World Cup campaign as the highest ever scorer in a single tournament, as the Junior Proteas beat Bangladesh by 2 wickets.

The 18-year-old rising talent, also known as “Baby AB”, has been talked about for some time now – ever since he got down on one knee with that signature slog-sweep at Cubs Week – Brevis’ name has been the talk of the town in most parts of South Africa.

Brevis has ended this World Cup campaign with 138 off 130 balls (11 fours, 7 sixes), which took his runs tally in the tournament to 506. What this means, is that he is now officially the highest ever individual run-getter in a single U19 World Cup tournament, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan by a single run.

Brevis was humble when he spoke to us before the tournament, but he had this respectable confidence that made you just know that he means business.

He spoke about playing aggressive. But he also mentioned the smart element that we are all familiar with and hear the Proteas players use when describing their philosophy.

We saw both aspects of this in Brevis’ game. In conditions foreign to him, he learnt and adapted his technique naturally, playing on instinct as he racked up the following scores:

65 v India
104 v Uganda
96 v Ireland
97 v England
6 v Sri Lanka
138 v Bangladesh

He has also struck the most sixes in a single U19 tournament, 18. It equals the all-time record set by Finn Allen, who achieved it spanning over 2 tournaments. Allen 12 innings 18 sixes, Dewald 6 innings 18 sixes.

South Africa ended the U19 World Cup in 7th place after chasing a target down of 294 to beat Bangladesh by 2 wickets.

Although fans are sad that the Junior Proteas never made the Semi-Final, they can take some satisfaction from some of the exceptional talents that were on display from a South African perspective.

Kwena Maphaka (3-25) performed excellently in this match as South Africa restricted Bangladesh to 293-8.

Matthew Boast (41 off 22) hit two fours and four sixes which were essential to the chase. Ronan Hermann’s 46 off 42 balls in an 86-run partnership with Brevis was crucial to setting up the chase.

Although the Proteas ended the tournament in seventh, there were enough signs to confirm that the future still looks bright for South Africa in cricket.