Aussies in awe of 'Baby AB' as focus turns to ODIs
Maxwell was the hero on Saturday night in Cairns, blasting an unbeaten 62 off 36 balls to lead Australia to a thrilling two-wicket T20 victory over South Africa with just one ball to spare.
GLENN MAXWELL WINS IT ON THE SECOND LAST BALL!#AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/gvrzvyHnGc— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) August 16, 2025
The win secured Australia a 2-1 series victory, and they will be aiming to back it up in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, starting in Cairns on Tuesday.
Although Australia managed to edge South Africa in the T20s, one of the biggest talking points to come out of the series was the hot form of rising Proteas star Dewald Brevis.
The 22-year-old smacked an unbeaten 125 off 56 balls to guide South Africa to victory in game two.
And he was at it again on Saturday night, blasting 53 off 26 balls before a brilliant diving catch from Maxwell in the deep ended his innings.
At one point, Brevis smacked allrounder Aaron Hardie for four consecutive sixes, including one huge hit that bounced on top of the roof and out of the stadium.
THREE NO-LOOK SIXES IN A ROW FROM DEWALD BREVIS!@BKTtires | #PlayoftheDay | #AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/2w1BpmQR8T— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) August 16, 2025
Brevis was dubbed 'Baby AB', in reference to former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers, after taking the Under 19 Cricket World Cup by storm in 2022.
Maxwell, who has reluctantly carried the nickname 'The Big Show' throughout his career, was full of praise for Brevis.
"He's got a lot of talent," Maxwell said.
"It was hard not to see some of the highlights from when he played in the South Africa Under 19s, and all the 'Baby AB' stuff.
"It's a pretty heavy burden he had to have early in his career.
"He probably got fast tracked a little bit into the South African side. he's had to go away and work on his game and come back and he's played beautifully this series.
"His bat swing is really pure. He's hard to stop when he gets going."
Maxwell won't be there for the ODI series after announcing his retirement in that format earlier this year, but Brevis is in South Africa's squad.
Brevis has already played two Tests and 10 T20s for his country, and it will be hard to see the South African selectors not picking him in the XI for the ODI series given his blistering hot form.
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Games two and three of the ODI series will be played at the recently refurbished Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay. Australia's most recent ODI match was their semi-final loss to India at the Champions Trophy in March. Maxwell and Steve Smith have since retired from the format, Spencer Johnson and Matt Short are currently injured, while Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sean Abbott and Tanveer Sangha haven't been selected for the upcoming ODI series. With the T20s out of the way, South Africa have welcomed in captain Temba Bavuma, veteran spinner Keshav Maharaj and recent Test triple-centurion Wiaan Mulder, as well as top-order batters Matthew Breetzke and Tony de Zorzi. Marsh is captaining the Australian side in the ODIs due to the absence of Pat Cummins, who is busy preparing for this summer's Ashes series. Despite the euphoria of the T20 series win, Australia's players have quickly reset their focus for the ODIs. "We start the series fresh, we start the series 0-0," Marsh said. "We know these shorter series it's really important to get off to a (fast) start, so hopefully that's the case tomorrow."
