By Casper Steenkamp
At international level, cricket is as much a mental contest as it is a physical one. In the case of Dewald Brevis, the conversation has to start with the mental game. For his immense talent to be fully realized, “Baby AB” needs to die – and Dewald Brevis the man (still young, but a little wiser) needs to emerge. That responsibility lies partly with Brevis himself, but equally with the South African cricketing ecosystem around him.
This piece explores how a talent like Brevis can be guided into becoming a genuine match-winning asset for South African cricket. While aspects of his journey may echo that of AB de Villiers, Brevis has his own path to travel; to support him on that journey, South African cricket needs clarity on what the road ahead should look like.
Before Mr. 360, There Was AB
One does not earn the nickname “Baby AB” without cause. Brevis undeniably evokes memories of AB de Villiers – the bat speed, the fearlessness, the range of shots, and the infamous no-look stroke that so often sails for six. Brevis has said he enjoys the nickname and wears it proudly; yet therein lies the danger: the temptation to begin where De Villiers finished.
We remember AB de Villiers primarily for the latter half of his career – the most destructive and inventive batter the game has ever seen. But Mr. 360 did not arrive fully formed.
Early in his international career, De Villiers developed under the guidance of legends. He batted up the order, often opening or coming in at first or second drop, sharing the crease with Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, and later his school friend, Faf du Plessis.
Talent was never in question; what he learned was how to think the game – to read conditions, understand bowlers, anticipate fields, and manipulate opposition plans.
Where Brevis Falls Short – For Now
Brevis wants to start where De Villiers finished. At 22, he is still learning his craft, and that youth shows.
While Brevis may resemble De Villiers aesthetically, he remains some distance from what AB was – and still is. Watch De Villiers in the recent World Masters tournament, which South Africa won, and the difference becomes stark.
In the final, there is a moment where De Villiers pierces a gap and immediately calls “two.” The ball races to the boundary anyway, but the call is revealing; he knew the gap existed before he struck the ball. He carried a mental map of the field and played for percentages. His running between the wickets turned ones into twos and twos into threes, constantly pushing those batting with him.
In the field, De Villiers produced moments of brilliance – spectacular catches – but just as importantly, he effected dozens of run-outs with sharp anticipation and precise throws at the stumps.
Brevis the batsman, by contrast, tends to target the ball over the fielders rather than between them. His running between the wickets is rarely tested by a “six-or-nothing” batting approach. Watching Brevis bat is like intercourse without foreplay – in, a few quick hard bangs, and then out, leaving the viewer unsatisfied and dreaming about how good it could have been. Similarly, while his fielding is often spectacular and has produced some outstanding catches, he has yet to develop the consistent, game-changing efficiency that characterized De Villiers.
The Finisher Fallacy
If AB de Villiers’ career offers insight, one conclusion becomes clear: using Brevis primarily as a lower-order finisher is a mistake. De Villiers began his international career up the order, often as an opener.
Batting down the order forces Brevis into high-pressure situations – chasing rates, batting with the tail, and reacting rather than controlling. It reinforces his instinct to swing from ball one while depriving him of the opportunity to learn game management alongside senior batters. The South African T20 squad has no shortage of power hitters; Miller, Jansen, Bosch, Ferreira, and Linde can all mishit the ball for six. We need players up the order who can win the game from the onset.
The Easy Path: Removing the Obstacles
One way to help a player find rhythm is to remove obstacles. Brevis is a modern cricketer, part of a generation whose primary income and exposure come from T20 cricket. It therefore makes sense to establish him in that format first and then reverse-engineer his development into others.
The simplest solution is to let Brevis open the batting or at least bat at first change – give him a license to attack from the outset, in the mold of Adam Gilchrist, Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Travis Head, or Quinton de Kock. Imagine a world where De Kock and Brevis are batting together, both firing on all cylinders; it is a frightening prospect.
Opposition teams already have a blueprint for Brevis’ dismissal: varied lengths just inside or outside his hitting arc, with protection on the leg-side boundary. Then some short balls at high pace… He may clear the ropes once or twice, but a lack of impulse control will inevitably lead to a mishit caught in the deep. Brevis relies on timing; when he middles the ball, it leaves the stadium. When he mistimes it, it still beats the inner ring but lacks the brute force to clear the boundary.
With fielding restrictions in place, those miscues are more likely to run away for four. Three or four strikes later, Brevis could be on a rapid 20 or 30, bowlers rattled early in their spells, and momentum firmly with South Africa. When the power play is lifted, Brevis will already have a score and some momentum behind him. His focus could then shift to hitting the gaps and building an innings.
Brevis’ move to a new SA20 franchise came with a record price tag – and with it, expectation. Pretoria Capitals spent almost their entire budget to secure him. For Brevis’ price, a team could almost assemble an entire batting lineup; but that is a separate debate.
What matters is giving him the best chance to succeed. Pretoria Capitals have historically thrived on destructive powerplay batting – Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Evin Lewis. By comparison, the 2025/2026 opening combination appears tame. Allowing Brevis to open would signal a return to the blueprint that took the Capitals to the final of the inaugural SA20. Why buy a batsman for a record-breaking fee and then send him in to try and smack the last few balls of the innings for six? Let him face as many deliveries as possible.
Yes, Brevis previously opened for MI Cape Town and the results were underwhelming. But by his own admission, he was a very different player then – overwhelmed by fame, expectation, and the standards of elite cricket.
The Hard Road: Remembering That Greatness Is Built
Ultimately, wherever Brevis bats, he needs guidance and perspective. Greatness is not forged through highlights alone. The current approach appears to prioritize freedom, with stabilizing forces around him; perhaps instead, Brevis needs to be challenged to find stability within himself.
Think of it like an origin story. Discovering power is only the first step; learning to control it is what creates mastery. Imagine challenging Brevis to keep the ball on the ground until he reaches a milestone. Play the same shots, but target gaps. Build an innings dominated by ones, twos, and threes rather than boundaries.
On the training ground, this means drilling gap-hitting, memorizing field placements, and learning to see opposition adjustments as opportunities. Teams immediately push fielders to the boundary when Brevis walks to the crease. That should be an advantage – not a restriction. Every response to his reputation can be anticipated, exploited, and turned into a weapon.
He has the talent; what he needs now is a challenge that sharpens the thinking side of his game.
His Own Man, His Own Journey
Brevis is not “Baby AB”; he is his own man. He already possesses the explosive power that De Villiers discovered later in his career. What remains is learning the finer arts of becoming a complete cricketer.
If he makes that transition, perhaps he will earn a nickname that reflects his own character and story – not a shadow of someone else’s greatness, but a name built on his own.
About the Author Casper Steenkamp is a Pretoria-based Clinical Psychologist, South African cricket enthusiast, and opinion writer with a keen interest in the psychology of the game. He writes about South African cricket with a focus on the mental aspects of the game that are often neglected but deeply necessary in order to win trophies.
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