West Indies wary of 'proper cricketer' Dewald Brevis ahead of series against Proteas

West Indies wary of 'proper cricketer' Dewald Brevis ahead of series against Proteas

West Indies captain Shai Hope knows first hand about the danger that Proteas batter Dewald Brevis will pose to his team in the three-match T20I series that kicks off in Paarl on Tuesday.

Hope shared a dressing room with the 22-year-old at the Pretoria Capitals in the SA20, where they reached the final but ultimately fell short against Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Brevis struck a brilliant 101 off 56 balls in the showpiece match at Newlands on Sunday, which followed scores of 53 not out and 75 to lead the Capitals into the SA20 final.

Hope said about Brevis: "He oozes confidence. He's one of those characters that feels he can get the job done in any situation, at any time.

"It's going to be a bit challenging playing against him now, but it was nice to share the dressing room with him, see what he thinks like, see what he does, and how he prepares.

"He's very professional, and he's certainly a proper cricketer. One of the best I've seen in a long time. He's got natural talent and ability.

"Since we are teammates, I actually want to see him doing really well in the future, but hopefully not too well in this series."

Pretoria Capitals skipper Keshav Maharaj, who is also in the Proteas squad that will take on West Indies, credited Brevis for taking more responsibility during the latter stages of the SA20.

Brevis' form will certainly be a plus as the Proteas gear up for the T20 World Cup in India from 7 February.

"The maturity shown in these last couple of games, no one would have expected Brevis to do that," Maharaj said after the SA20 final.

"We know him to be a hard-hitting, six-hitting player, but he just showed his composure and his class. He's someone that we know, if he bats 50 balls, he'll get a hundred.

"Hopefully it's onwards and upwards from here for him, and he shows that maturity whenever he plays in any format of the game."

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