South African sides set new T20 world record

Dewald Brevis celebrates his century for Titans against KnightsOther

Titans batter Dewald Brevis hit the joint third-highest T20 score, and the highest by a South African

By Mo Allie
BBC Sport Africa, South Africa

Teenager Dewald Brevis starred as South African sides Titans and Knights set a new world record for the most runs scored in a Twenty20 cricket match.

The collective total of 501 beat the previous world record of 497, set in a New Zealand provincial game between Otago (249) and Central Districts (248) in 2016.

Opener Brevis hit a mammoth 162 off only 57 balls as he helped his Pretoria-based Titans franchise to a massive 271-3 before the Knights, from Bloemfontein, replied with 230-9.

Brevis, who has been nicknamed 'Baby AB' after former South Africa great AB de Villiers, smashed 13 fours and 13 sixes in his innings in the domestic T20 Challenge match in Potchefstroom.

The 19-year-old continued his spectacular upward career curve by registering the joint third-highest T20 score, behind legendary West Indies batter Chris Gayle (175 not out for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013) and Australia's Aaron Finch (172 against Zimbabwe in 2018).

"It's a very special day. Things haven't really sunk in yet," said Brevis.

"I'm just grateful for the talent that God gave me and the opportunity to showcase it. It's really special to be able to live my life to the fullest playing cricket."

To underline his all-round skills, Brevis also took a wicket with his leg-spin bowling as well as pulling off a stunning catch on the boundary, jumping and throwing the ball infield to prevent it from going for a six before diving to complete the catch.

Even the real AB was in awe of the youngster's performance.

"Dewald Brevis. No need to say more," tweeted De Villiers, who is widely regarded as one of the best batters of all time.

Brevis joins former Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza, who made the same score (off 71 balls) for The Mountaineers against the Mashonaland Eagles in a domestic competition in 2016, while Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai also posted 162, off 62 balls, against Ireland in February 2019.

The 52 balls Brevis took to reach 150 is also the fastest to reach the landmark, beating Gayle's mark of 53 deliveries during his record-breaking 175 not out in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL).

His score is the highest in a T20 match by a South African, beating the previous record of 140 not out jointly shared by Pieter Malan and Quinton de Kock.

Calls for Brevis to join Proteas

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Dewald Brevis starred for South Africa a the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year

Johannesburg-born Brevis first made international headlines at this year's Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies when he scored two centuries and three fifties.

His performances en route to scoring a tournament-record 506 runs, at an average of 84.33, saw him being named player of the tournament.

Amid persistent calls for him to be called up to the senior South Africa squad, which is in Australia bidding to win the men's T20 World Cup for the first time, Brevis is prepared to bide his time and remain focused on performing to the best of his ability.

"I always believed, even last year, that I was ready but I trust the people in charge and I believe they would make the right decision," he added.

"So whenever the time is, I'll be ready. I think what's important is that this is the next stepping stone.

"I believe that the people in control they know best and everything works out as it should.

"This [Cricket SA T20 Challenge] is where I have to be, I have to do this, it's part of my journey. I just believe everything works out as it should."

In February Brevis was snapped up by the Mumbai Indians for this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament and went on to score 161 runs at an average of 23 in his seven outings.

He was also one of the first signings for MI Cape Town, one of the six franchises that will play in the inaugural SA20 series which is due to start in January.

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