Dewald Brevis has been named in South Africa's men's squad for their upcoming white-ball series against Australia. The 20-year-old batter, who was the top run-getter at the Under-19 World Cup in 2022, has already featured in multiple franchise competitions including the IPL, CPL and MLC and has now earned a long-awaited international call-up.
Brevis has been named in the squads for both the T20I and ODI series, which are South Africa's only competitive outings before the World Cup in October-November. The aim is to introduce Brevis to the biggest stage and not necessarily auditioning him for a spot in India. South Africa's coach Rob Walter confirmed at a press conference that Brevis, if part of a starting XI, will bat in the middle order, and not in his usual opening spot. There are also no expectations from him to do anything other than ease into the senior team.
"It's nice to be able to give him an opportunity. He is one of our up-and-coming youngsters. We want to just broaden our base a little bit and this Australia series is an opportunity to give him a run," Walter said. "I won't be calling him Baby AB [de Villiers]. We will leave AB to be AB. He [Brevis] is a fairly grounded young guy. It's just about creating an environment to express himself in."
Instead, all eyes will be on Keshav Maharaj, who has made an earlier-than-expected recovery from a ruptured Achilles and is in contention for the World Cup.
Maharaj suffered the injury in a Test match against West Indies in March and was expected to be out for the rest of the year but has progressed steadily enough to be included. "He has done exceptionally well to this point. He is ahead of where we thought he would be, so things look positive," Walter said. "It's difficult to guesstimate the last portion of his recovery and when he will be match ready but I am quietly hopeful he will be ready for those T20s."
Maharaj has been named in the squad for the second and third T20Is, albeit dependent on match fitness. Management are hopeful he will then play in the ODIs ahead of the World Cup. South Africa will name an initial World Cup squad on September 5, before the ODI series, but changes can be made to that group until September 27. It is likely that Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin are competing for two spinners' spots in the final XV.
Those are the only big debates that South Africa will be having ahead of the World Cup with the bulk of the ODI squad made up of familiar faces. Of those, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada, who played at the MLC and in Klaasen's case also The Hundred, will be rested from the T20Is to ensure they are at their best for the ODIs and the World Cup. "Ninety-five percent of our squad is tried and tested," Walter said. "And then there is potentially an opportunity for a younger flair."
The newcomers are mostly in the T20I squad with two uncapped batters in addition to Brevis. Matthew Breetzke has been included as top-order cover and Donovan Ferreira comes in as another middle-order option. The wicketkeeping role for the T20Is is between between the two of them and Tristan Stubbs, with all of them part of Walter's future plans.
"We're going to give guys opportunities and we might spread the load a little bit," Walter confirmed. "Donovan was involved in a lot of league cricket. One of the areas in our batting we want to pay attention to is the ability to finish and clear the rope so that's why he is in. Matthew is top-order cover. All the coaches on my support staff as well as Shukri [Conrad, the red-ball coach] speak very highly of him."
There is also the possibility of one new T20I bowler in Gerald Coetzee, who has played Tests and ODIs for South Africa but is yet to make his T20I debut. The T20I squad also sees a return for Test and ODI captain Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen, who were dropped for the home T20Is against West Indies earlier this year. "When they were left out, it was a performance-based thing but I was also specific saying it's our job to get them back in." Walter said. "Rassie has been at the Global T20 in Canada and Temba was working hard here. It's the perfect opportunity for them to show they are able to maneuver their games and grow their games."
South Africa have not played any cricket since their World Cup Super League series against Netherlands, which ended on April 2. The ODI squad will assemble next Monday for a three-day cohesion camp in the Kruger National Park, with training for both outfits to start on August 24, and the first match against Australia scheduled for August 30.
"Our guys are playing in five or six different environments throughout the year so the camp is about creating a platform for our players to connect with each other. When pressure moments arrive, it's our connection with each other that is going to hold us up," Walter said, while acknowledging the scant game time is not ideal ahead of the World Cup. "You are never going to replicate world cup pressure in the nets but we are trying your best to get there. We speak of trying to create the right environment that has got a bit of an edge to it. Still, it's always a tough one."