Dewald Brevis finished his extraordinary U19 World Cup on another high, hitting 138 off 130 balls against Bangladesh to help his side chase down 294 to win the seventh-place playoff.
Brevis’ century means he has scored two tons and three half-centuries in six innings in the Caribbean, hitting 506 runs and averaging 84.33
And his side needed him at his best after Bangladesh had racked up 293-8 in their 50 overs, with Ariful Islam scoring his second century of the tournament.
Five of Bangladesh’s top six made starts, but it was 17-year-old Islam who made the most of his time in the middle, stroking 102 off just 103 balls in a knock that featured nine fours and three sixes.
Islam fell shortly after reaching his century to the excellent Matthew Boast in the 48th over, with the Tigers adding 15 more runs to their score to set South Africa a target of 294 to finish seventh in the tournament.
Openers Jade Smith (10) and Ronan Hermann (46) got the reply off to a rapid start, but No 3 Brevis was always going to be the key player in the chase, and he showed great composure to build his way to a significant score once again before accelerating past three figures.
Brevis displayed all of his vast array of shots in a spectacular innings, hitting seven maximums and 11 fours in his 130-ball 138.
With Boast registering a rapid 41 off 22 balls at the other end, South Africa made a potentially tricky run-chase look like an easy proposition. And they required just 31 to win with six overs remaining when Brevis was finally dismissed, caught off the bowling of Ripon Mondol.
It fell to Liam Alder to hit the winning runs, smashing a six off the penultimate ball of the 49th over to wrap up the win with seven deliveries to spare.
But the plaudits went, quite rightly, to the brilliant Brevis, who was applauded around the outfield by his teammates at the end of a special tournament for the youngster nicknamed ‘Baby AB’.
– Report courtesy ICC website
