Dewald Brevis' rise to the South African men's side has been anything but straightforward. Once celebrated as "Baby AB" for his stroke play reminiscent of AB de Villiers, the 22-year-old carried the weight of expectation long before his international career began.
After an underwhelming start and a return to domestic cricket, Brevis has rebuilt his game and his identity. And his recent innings in Darwin has put him back in the spotlight for all the right reasons.
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Dewald Brevis breaks South Africa's T20I record in Darwin
In the second T20I against Australia, Brevis hit a match-winning 125*: the highest score by a South African in men's T20Is and a record that also made him the youngest South African to score a hundred in the format. Captain Aiden Markram called it a "freakish display," but Brevis described it simply.
"That's just my natural way of hitting. I've hit thousands of balls.. I just want to be myself and have fun," he said.
Dewald Brevis doesn't want to be the next AB de Villiers
Brevis first made headlines as the leading run-scorer in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup - a performance that saw him embrace the "Baby AB" tag. While AB de Villiers remains a role model, Brevis admitted the label became a burden.
His early international returns - just five runs in his first T20I series, led to a stint back in domestic cricket where he dominated across formats and helped MI Cape Town lift the SA20 title.
Reflecting on that period, Brevis said he made a commitment last December "to be the original Dewald" and focus on his own game.
"I believe God blessed me with a talent to play like that, to play aggressively. Last year, on 28 December, I made that commitment. I got a few people, they know who they are, who I trust and the main thing was just to be the original Dewald and to be on that side of it and every ball, wherever it is, to watch it and to hit it."
Brevis admits he made mistakes along the way - including "buying into the hype" too early. Now with a record-breaking T20I hundred behind him, he sees this as the start of a longer journey.
South Africa's newest record-holder is no longer chasing someone else's shadow. And if his form holds, more milestones could be on the horizon.