The brilliant Brevis displayed his enormous ability right off the bat as he recorded a fine 65 against India, accompanied with 2/43 from his useful off-spin.
The 18-year-old very nearly followed up that knock with a hat-trick of centuries, hitting 104 against Uganda before falling four runs short of a ton against Ireland and three runs short in the loss to England.
Brevis’ only ‘failure’ in the tournament came when he scored just six against Sri Lanka, but he finished his campaign on a high with a sensatiojnal 138 against Bangladesh to steer his side to a successful run chase in the seventh-place playoff.
Reasons for comparisons between Brevis and AB de Villiers were clear from the moment he took to the crease against India, with the player having clearly modelled his style on the South African legend.
“In my era growing up everyone knows AB de Villiers, he’s been such a role model for me from a very young age,” Brevis told the ICC website.
“Growing up watching him at SuperSport Park for the first time live, on TV, I always loved the way he played, 360 degrees, taking on the bowlers, being aggressive.
“I’ve chatted to AB quite a lot, it’s a special relationship, something that I keep close to my heart and don’t really talk much about, but he’s given me some advice and small things to improve my game.
“I love a lot of shots, but if I had to choose I believe it’d be playing a straight drive or straight over the top, but 360… I like playing 360!”
BREVIS’ RECORD-BREAKING NUMBERS
- 65 and 2/43 vs India
- 104 and 2/18 vs Uganda
- 96 and 0/13 vs Ireland
- 97 and 2/40 vs England
- 6 and 1/52 vs Sri Lanka
- 138 and 0/34 vs Bangladesh
READ | BREVIS FALLS FOUL OF ICC CODE OF CONDUCT