Could Dewald Brevis be the Proteas’ T20 World Cup surprise package?

For former SA under-19 coach Dave Nosworthy, presently director of Cricket at St David’s Marist, Dewald Brevis may need to bide his time before representing the senior side.

Brevis, who scored two centuries and three fifties at the 2022 under-19 World Cup, has been overlooked by the national selectors who opted for consistency ahead of the all-format tour to England and Ireland.

Nosworthy welcomes Rilee Rossouw’s return to the white-ball set-up for SA’s tour, starting later this month, and said Brevis can draw on the former’s experiences in the game. The 32-year-old Rossouw was an uncut diamond when he debuted for the Proteas in 2014 in the shorter formats but has reached a stage where he’s settled on his game plan and knows his scoring options.

Having played his last ODI against Australia in 2016, Rossouw caught the eye of convener of selectors Victor Mpitsang and coach Mark Boucher with a number of commanding performances for Somerset on the county scene. His knowledge of the local conditions is set to aid and abet the Proteas, who kick off their European sojourn next Tuesday with the first of three ODIs.

Nosworthy, who spent two years at Somerset, noted that Rossouw’s selection underlines that the Proteas selectors are still keeping an open mind with the T20 World Cup in Australia from October. For six years, Rossouw was the forgotten man of SA cricket but his performances have seen him knock down the national door and, if Brevis continues to excel at the highest level, he will also get in.

“Dewald is the flavour of the month but there is no doubt he has huge ability,” said Nosworthy, who blooded an 18-year-old AB de Villiers when he debuted against Canada in a World Cup warm-up match. “I dislike the ‘Baby AB’ nickname because I think it’s unfair on Dewald but he’s doing the right thing by gaining exposure in the Caribbean and Sri Lanka Premier Leagues over the next few months.”

While the Proteas’ T20 World Cup squad hasn’t been set in stone, Nosworthy said he would have thought that if Brevis was in line for the World Cup he would have joined the touring party to the UK. At this point, the 19-year-old’s chances of World Cup selection appear slim but if he shoots the lights out in the aforementioned T20 tournaments, he could still be welcomed into the national fold.

“If Dewald sets the world alight and you haven’t gone to the World Cup yet and they haven’t announced their squad — as selectors you look at him and ask,‘Why not?’”, said Nosworthy, who has a decorated CV when it comes to developing young players and ploughing them through the system.

“Dewald is only averaging 25 but his strike rate is magnificent. He is talented, skilled and does all the fancy stuff. He really excites people and I’m hopeful he kicks on and fulfils what’s expected of him.”

Nosworthy said that when he introduced a new player into a team set-up, he tried to put age aside and instead focus on the character of the person and player. He gave De Villiers an early break and revealed that he found out about his character when touring the UK together, and De Villiers was still a schoolboy.

They played cards on the bus trips from county to county and De Villiers was competitive and never wanted to lose. Nosworthy assessed whether a cricketer had the mental stamina to deal with what would come to them in the pressure situations and whether they were able to perform.

“There have been quite a few young guys who have been hugely talented but have sometimes been thrown in too early like Wayne Parnell,” Nosworthy noted. “Wayne is a talented cricketer but was thrown in way too early and he didn’t necessarily have the expertise to handle the situations that came with it. Now he’s come back and, at the age of 32, he’s ready. He just looks more in control.”

Parnell has studied at the school of hard knocks and his is a cautionary tale of a young player who wasn’t ready for the big time. Nosworthy said that it’s not to suggest that Brevis will experience the same fate but the public and press should temper their expectations and allow the teen to develop.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, who led his country in 51 Tests, was effusive in his praise of Brevis and went as far as to say: “He looks like a young player that we are probably going to be talking about more than any other player over the next 10 to 15 years.”

Vaughan enjoyed an illustrious career and scored 5719 runs in 82 Test matches so his words carry weight. But Nosworthy doesn’t want Brevis to become big-headed and get sucked into the hype from the press and public.

“It’s a massive statement from Michael but I don’t think Dewald is the kind of guy who will let the attention bother him too much. From what I hear, he is very level-headed and there is not much arrogance involved. When the likes of AB, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy were young players there was no arrogance. Let’s hope Michael is right because there is a lot of talent in Brevis’s young body.”

After winning the US Open, 19-year-old tennis player Emma Raducanu’s form took a significant nosedive and Nosworthy acknowledged that young players have to be careful who they have in the ear when it comes to agreeing off-field endeavours. “It’s all good and well looking flashy in a new pair of Oakleys but are you going to be able to see through them to be able to hit the ball?” he concluded.