Young South African batter Dewald Brevis has been dubbed ‘Baby AB’ for a reason and he showed his class as MI Cape Town outclassed Paarl Royals by eight wickets to win with a bonus point in the SA20 2023 T20 League opener at the Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday (January 10). Brevis hammered an unbeaten 70 off 41 balls with 5 sixes and 4 fours as home side MI Cape Town chased down 143 to win in 15.3 overs.


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Brevis put on 90 runs in just over 10.4 overs with opener Ryan Rickleton, who notched up 42 off 33 balls with 1 six and 5 fours. All-rounder Sam Curran came out to bat at No. 3 and smashed 20 off 16 balls with a couple of sixes as well.


“I want to thank the crowd for their great support. I really enjoyed batting every single ball. I want to thank god as well. Absolutely grateful for this opportunity to play in front of my home crowd. He (AB de Villiers) has played a key role in my development as a player. He helped me through a lot and gives me the right advice. I could not wait for this day to see him (Archer), run in and bowl at pace. It is not my worry (that Liam Livingstone and Kagiso Rabada are returning), it is the other teams’ worry,” Brevis said at the post-match presentation.


WATCH highlights of brilliant knock by Dewald Brevis HERE…



The Newlands crowd were in high spirits before the toss after being entertained to a spectacular show from Sho Madjozi and Master KG. The show continued once the game got underway as the home side drew first blood when MI Cape Town’s Jofra Archer, returning from injury, dismissed Wihan Lubbe with the help of a brilliant diving catch from George Linde.


There was great news for Mumbai Indians and England fans as Jofra Archer made a spectacular return from injury, claiming 3/27 in 4 overs. Paarl Royals settled down after the initial setback through English duo Jos Buttler and Jason Roy as the pair put on 36 runs for the second wicket before Roy (13) was dismissed by Duan Jansen.


Buttler, though, continued to keep the Royals innings ticking over as he produced a sparkling half-century before being dismissed for 51(42), while captain David Miller knocked 42 off 31 balls as the Royals closed on 142/7. Archer was the standout MI Cape Town bowler with figures of 3/27, while Ollie Stone claimed 2/37.


“So happy to be starting the new competition with a win. The way we started was great, and then we finished off with our batting. Looking forward to keeping this momentum. The bowling unit we have is one of the best. As a captain it makes it so easy because you have bowlers who can bowl in different stages. We just need to focus on doing the right things,” MI Cape Town skipper Rashid Khan said.


“It is super hard to be out for so long and come back this way. It was delightful to watch. We saw him in practice and knew that he was ready to go. It was superb to watch and to be on the same side as him,” Rashid Khan said about Jofra Archer.


Brief Scores: Paarl Royals 142/7 (Jos Buttler 51, David Miller 42; Jofra Archer 3/27, Olly Stone 2/31) lost to MI Cape Town 143/2 in 15.3 ovs (Dewald Brevis 70 n.o., Ryan Rickleton 42)