Brevis reborn as MI Cape Town finally fulfil enormous potential

MI Cape Town’s journey from star-laden underachievers in the first two seasons of the Betway SA20, to champions in the third, mimics the evolution of South African cricket’s bright young thing — Dewald Brevis. 

The now 21-year-old was the poster boy of the inaugural competition two seasons ago, having lit up the junior circuit and had everyone forecasting a future where he’d become the next generation’s best player. 

Brevis battled in the spotlight, sparkling briefly in the tournament’s first game at Newlands when he made 70 and was named player of the match. Like Brevis, MI Cape Town fizzled away that season, winning two more matches and finishing bottom of the log. 

They had all the big names, but couldn’t gel as a team nor find the right balance. 

Aside from their opening combination, Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton, last year’s campaign was another disaster. Brevis was almost invisible, scoring only 150 runs across eight innings and was dropped at one stage. 

MI Cape Town lacked rhythm and cohesion and again finished bottom of the log, again winning just three matches. 

This year Brevis has been electrifying, he’s aggregate of 291 runs is his best for any SA20, he made two half-centuries, had a strike rate of 184.17, hit the most sixes of any batter — 25 — picked up three wickets and, among his six catches, were some drawn straight out of fantasy. 

“It was great to see Brevis’ evolution over the past two years and coming into this tournament, he’s made it his own this year. He played fantastically,” said Cape Town’s head coach Robin Peterson.

Like Brevis, MI Cape Town, evolved as a team this season. They made better use of their playing resources, giving Rickelton a few days off at the start of the tournament, when he was nursing a knee niggle, after a lengthy Test summer while Kagiso Rabada was also rested midway through the round-robin phase. In fact Brevis and Delano Potgieter were the only two, who played every match in the competition. 

They were expertly led by Rashid Khan, but the assistance from the senior corps, including Van der Dussen, Rabada and Rickelton was critical in how tactics were developed and conditions used, and the impact of young Conor Esterhuizen in the final — where he made 39 off 26 balls, having held the innings together after the top order were dismissed in quick succession — further illustrated their depth. 

They relied heavily on their South African players, more so than the other franchises. In Saturday’s final against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Rashid and Trent Boult were the only overseas players in the starting XI.

“The local players we have are international players,” said Peterson. “It was about balancing the team in terms of the skill sets we needed. We didn’t plan it.” 

Ultimately their 76-run win over the two-time champions at the Wanderers was the result of all those resources being properly used, something they’d struggled with in the first two seasons.

“A bowling attack and a batting line-up like that, when they both fire together in one game ... it is difficult to stop a team like that. They had an excellent campaign and definitely deserve it,” said the Sunrisers’ Marco Jansen. 

He felt the full force of Rickelton’s blade in the power play on Saturday, conceding 31 runs in his first two overs. “Bowling against their opening batters is not fun, especially on the highveld where a ball that is mis-hit flies for six.”

Brevis did that on four occasions on Saturday. His were not edges or mis-hits however, but all crisply struck blows that came at a critical time of his side’s innings. He, like MI Cape Town, were revitalised this season.