He was a batting all-rounder whose elegance at the crease drew comparisons with former South African captain Hansie Cronje.

[1] In the 2003–04 SuperSport Series, after a missable first innings, de Bruyn top scored with 169[2] to help Easterns claim the title for the first time.

[4] In 2003–04 he became only the second player in South African cricket, after Barry Richards, to score 1000 domestic first-class runs in a season, in either the SuperSport Series or the Currie Cup.

He kept his place in the squad for the home series against England, playing in the first Test; but was subsequently dropped for the return of Jacques Kallis.

During this time, he failed to impress; his first-class wickets costing almost a hundred runs each,[9] and only a late season century against Somerset[10] rescuing his batting average.