Dewald Brevis sets SA record, lights up Darwin with maiden T20I century
Dewald Brevis struck a sublime century to guide South Africa to 218 for seven and an eventual 53-run win over Australia in Darwin to tie the series 1-1, headed into the final match on Saturday.
It was an exhibition of clean hitting by the 22-year-old who now has the record for the highest T20I score for South Africa.
He bludgeoned an undefeated 125 off 56 deliveries, surpassing the 119 off 56 balls former captain Faf du Plessis struck against West Indies in 2015.
Brevis aimed straight and he aimed long as he smacked most of his boundaries back over the bowlers' heads, showing some finesse when doing so by holding his head down until after the point of contact, lifting it only once the ball had sailed over the ropes in what has become his trademark style.
The stylish batter clubbed eight massive sixes and 12 fours in his record-breaking knock, with six of those maximums coming off the spin of either Glenn Maxwell or Adam Zampa, who he took a particular liking to.
'I always knew [that] I would be happy if spin arrived,' Brevis said. 'I just watched it and tried to maximise every single ball, but in a way, I felt like I'm happy [to face] the seam because the wicket was nice, I enjoyed it.
'I was just in the moment to be honest, I was happy with whatever bowler it was, if it was pace on, seam on, spin or anything.'
Rebuilding
Brevis walked in at number four with South Africa in a bit of a precarious position on 44 for two in the fifth over. He took his time to get himself going, scoring only 14 runs off his first 12 deliveries, before digging into the Australian bowlers. Off the next 41 deliveries he faced, he scored 102 runs, which included clubbing Maxwell for three sixes and a four in the space of four deliveries in the 12th over.
It was carnage from the youngster who, once he started hitting it out of the park, didn't stop trying.
Tristan Stubbs (31 off 22), who can be equally destructive, joined Brevis at the crease in the seventh over with the team on 57 for three. When the pair reached their 100-run partnership in the 15th over, he had only a run-a-ball 16 to his name as he shepherded the strike to Brevis.
It's the first time Brevis has passed 50 for South Africa in limited-overs cricket, having scored 51 on Test debut against Zimbabwe last month, and he made it count. After 11 innings in the green and gold for South Africa, is this the moment he finally feels like he belongs at this level?
'I've always believed that this is where I need to be and where I will be,' Brevis said after the match. 'I never had any doubt or anything. It's all about cricket and how things work out.
'It is a roller coaster, you have your ups, you have your downs, but I never, ever doubted myself.
'This is just, for me, the start. It's not that this happened now, and now I'm happy or anything.
'I just want to keep working hard, do the same things, and the next match is the next match. I can enjoy it now, think a bit about it, watch it maybe, but then when the next match comes, it's completely new and anything can happen, so you have to be in the moment.'
Finishing the task
For Australia, only the ferocious striker Tim David, who beats the ball more than just hitting it, made any score of significance after scoring 50 off 24 deliveries, his second consecutive half-century against the Proteas.
The wickets were shared between the bowlers, with everyone picking up a scalp. Kwena Maphaka and Corbin Bosch were the standouts with three wickets apiece as South Africa bowled Australia out for 165 in the 18th over.
The third and final T20I takes place on Saturday, 16 August. DM
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Conrad pleased with progress shown by Proteas, despite series defeat
South Africa lost the T20 series 2-1 after a nail-biting final match against Australia in Cairns. He admitted they were not pleased with the result, but head coach Shukri Conrad said he was satisfied with the fight shown by the Proteas during the three-match T20 International series against Australia which concluded in Cairns on Saturday. In the first game of the series they lost by 17 runs, and while they won the second match by 53 runs, South Africa were edged in a two-wicket defeat in a thrilling final game. Looking ahead to the T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka early next year, Conrad was satisfied with their early build-up, especially with a handful of players returning on this tour after being rested on the tour to Zimbabwe last month. 'Obviously the result (losing the T20 series 2-1) is disappointing… but I'm really happy with the growth. I'm happy with the progress that's being made,' Conrad said. 'You can see the guys who have been playing and the guys who have come off a bit of a sabbatical. There's just a bit of rustiness. 'But I'm happy with how we're shaping up. We've got 14 T20 matches before the World Cup, so all is good and we'll keep building on that.' Dewald Brevis nails down his spot Conrad was particularly impressed by Dewald Brevis, who enjoyed a breakthrough series, hitting a record century in the second game and contributing a half-century in the third. It took Brevis some time to prove himself to the national selectors, but Conrad said the youngster had cemented his place in the Proteas T20 squad moving forward. 'He's only 22, and he's obviously going to grow older, but I hope he continues to play like a 22-year-old,' Conrad said. 'I think sometimes with experience, guys tend to adjust the way they play, but he's a breath of fresh air and he's nailed down that spot as his going forward. 'And I'm sure he'll spur on guys in the side to take on things a bit earlier as well. He's a special talent.' Following the completion of the T20 series, South Africa will now face Australia in a three-match ODI series starting in Cairns on Tuesday.
TimesLIVE
3 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Maxwell keeps his cool to sink SA hopes in T20 series decider
Glenn Maxwell, reverse-pulled the penultimate ball of the match from Lungi Ngidi over third man for four to claim a nerve-shredding two wicket win for Australia in the final T20 International, wrapping up a 2-1 series win over the Proteas on Saturday. Maxwell had steadied the Australian innings after they'd lost four wickets for 39 in 21 balls and put them in a winning position until a superb 19th over from Corbin Bosch, left Ngidi to defend 10 runs in the last over. Maxwell hit a powerful drive through the covers for four off the second ball and with Ngidi struggling to find the right length — likely on account of heavy dew in Cairns — the reverse pull flew to the boundary, with Maxwell pumping his fists as his teammate celebrated in the dugout. His 62 not out came off 36 balls, and included eight fours and two sixes. GLENN MAXWELL WINS IT ON THE SECOND LAST BALL! #AUSvSA — (@cricketcomau) August 16, 2025 It meant that another 'six fest' from Dewald Brevis was insufficient, with the Proteas, who made 172/7, falling about 30 runs short of a total they should have reached. Brevis hit half-a-dozen sixes, four of them coming in over, backing up his unbeaten 125 from Tuesday's second match with a sensational 53 off only 26 balls. But the next best for the Proteas was Rassie van der Dussen's 38 off 26 balls. 'Yeah, 170 wasn't enough on that surface,' SA's captain Aiden Markram admitted. Again SA struggled in the power play, scoring 46/2 with the field restrictions in place with Markram again dismissed early, this time for one in the first over. With Ryan Rickelton also struggling to middle the ball, it was left to teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius who faced 15 balls for his 24 to create momentum for the Proteas. Brevis's blitzkrieg included four sixes off Aaron Hardie in the 10th over, three coming in his favourite area down the ground, with the crack of ball on willow echoing around the Cazaly Stadium. But with Tristan Stubbs also struggling with his timing, Brevis was left as the sole boundary hitter and in attempting another, he was brilliantly caught by a diving Maxwell at long-on in the 12th over. SA struggled thereafter hitting only five fours off the remaining 50 balls of the innings — one an outside edge by Senuran Muthusamy and another the result of a miss-field from Mitchell Marsh. Spare a thought for this guy who tried to take a catch in the crowd and went BANG into the fence! #AUSvSA — (@cricketcomau) August 16, 2025 The Australian captain put SA under pressure at the start of the run-chase with a bruising half-century that included five sixes. But after an opening partnership of 66 with Travis Head, SA pulled themselves back into the contest. First Markram had Head dismissed for 19, then Bosch, who was again excellent, breached Josh Inglis' defences, which was followed by a double strike from Kwena Maphaka that left Australia wobbling at 88/4. When Kagiso Rabada caught player of the series Tim David off his own bowling for 17, SA's confidence was high. But Maxwell kept his composure, hitting timely boundaries and even though he got little help at the other end, SA's poor output with the bat in the second half of their innings, meant the target wasn't as much as it should have been. Ben Dwarhuis scored just one in a 42-run seventh wicket partnership that was superbly controlled by Maxwell, but within sight of victory, Australia were knocked back again. Bosch picked up two wickets in the 19th over, to raise SA's hopes. But those were dashed by Maxwell's cool and creative execution at the end against Ngidi.
The Citizen
4 hours ago
- The Citizen
Proteas edged by Australia in last-ball T20 thriller
The home team reached their target with just one ball to spare to earn a 2-1 series win. Aiming for a historic victory on Saturday, a fighting Proteas team were held off by Australia in a nail-biting clash as the hosts secured a two-wicket victory in the third and final T20 International in Cairns. With South Africa in search of their first T20 series win in Australia, their party was spoiled by the home side, who wrapped up a 2-1 series triumph. Set a target of 173 to win, Australia got off to a cracking start, with captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head sharing 66 runs for the first wicket. However, Head was removed by Aiden Markram for 19 runs in the eighth over to break the partnership, and Marsh was dismissed by teenager Kwena Maphaka midway through the innings after hitting 54 off 37. Maxwell shines for Australia And while the Proteas worked hard to pile on the pressure with the ball, middle-order batter Glenn Maxwell took the game away from the tourists by smashing 62 not out off 36 balls. While all-rounder Corbin Bosch took two scalps in the penultimate over to keep the SA team in the hunt, they were ultimately edged out. In a thrilling final over, delivered by Kagiso Rabada, Australia needed 10 runs with just two wickets in hand. Maxwell bashed 10 off five deliveries, guiding his side to 173/8 with one ball remaining. Bosch, who was superb at the death, took 3/26, with fast bowlers Rabada (2/32) and Maphaka (2/36) grabbing two wickets each. Proteas innings Earlier, South Africa did not get off to the best start after being sent in to bat, finding themselves at 32/2 in the fifth over. But they soon changed gears. Led by Dewald Brevis, who bashed 53 runs off 26 balls (including six sixes), the tourists took the fight to the hosts. Brevis was removed by seam bowler Nathan Ellis in the 12th over, with Maxwell taking a good catch on the boundary, making amends after he had spilled a tough chance with Brevis on nine. Once the big-hitting youngster was dismissed, Rassie van der Dussen carried the lower half of the order, contributing 38 not out off 26 deliveries as the Proteas reached 172/7. Ellis was the best of Australia's bowlers, taking 3/31, and he was well backed by fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood (2/30) and spinner Adam Zampa (2/24).
