Keshav Maharaj: Dewald Brevis' SA20 heroics prove he is South Africa’s new No 4
PROTEAS & SA20
Keshav Maharaj believes Dewald Brevis has found his home at number four ahead of the West Indies series and the T20 World Cup. Photo: Sportzpics
Image: Sportzpics
Keshav Maharaj believes that the SA20 has painted a vivid picture as to where Dewald Brevis should bat in the upcoming West Indies series and T20 World Cup, following his player of the match performance in the final at Newlands on Sunday.
Brevis struck his maiden SA20 century on Sunday, rescuing the Pretoria Capitals from 1/2 and helping them set a competitive target of 159.
The youngster showed maturity batting at number four for the Pretoria Capitals, and Maharaj believes that position should be his going forward as the national team are set to assemble in Cape Town on Monday for the upcoming three-match series against the West Indies.
“I think, if we’re honest, maybe we held him back a little bit at the start of the comp, and maybe that's why it was a bit erratic in the way it came across. But I think with responsibility batting at four, he showed what he's capable of for the last three games,” Maharaj said.
“I think he's got two fifties and a hundred in a row.
"So, I'm pretty sure he'll carry that momentum into the South African team in this West Indies series and the World Cup, and just going forward in general. I think the maturity shown in these last couple of games, no one would have expected Brevis to do that.”
As captain of the Centurion-based team, Maharaj displayed both pride and hurt following their six-wicket loss to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final on Sunday. They showed pride for being able to come back from only one victory in the opening five matches of the season to reach the final.
“It does hurt. It's quite painful, I'm not going to say that it’s not; it feels like you lost the World Cup over here. That's what it feels like. But having said that, at the start of the season, a lot of people wouldn't have said we'd be in this position now,” Maharaj said.
“So, we take all the positives we can and come next season, we build on the areas that we can do a lot better. If we're going to compete and be the best, then we've got to be on it from all facets of the game, come in these knockout games.”