Pretorius becomes SA's youngest Test centurion

Yahoo

8 hours ago

First Test, Bulawayo (day one of five)
South Africa 418-9 (Pretorius 153, Bosch 100*; Chivanga 4-83)
Zimbabwe Yet to bat
Scorecard
Lhuan-dre Pretorius became the youngest centurion in South Africa's Test history as he made a brilliant 153 on debut at the age of 19 years and 93 days.
The left-handed batter made a hundred off 112 balls on day one of the first Test against Zimbabwe which helped the Proteas reach 418-9 at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
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Pretorius eclipsed a record which had stood since December 1963 when Graeme Pollock made 120 against Australia in Sydney aged 19 years and 318 days.
The wicketkeeper-batter became the 10th youngest Test centurion of all time in a list headed by Mohammad Ashraful of Bangladesh, who was 17 years and 61 days old when he made a hundred against Sri Lanka in 2001. He is the fourth-youngest to do so on debut.
He is the youngest player to score 150 in Tests, bettering Javed Miandad, who was 19 years and 119 days old when he scored 163 against New Zealand in 1976.
Pretorius came to the crease with South Africa, who are playing their first match since winning the World Test Championship earlier this month, in a bit of trouble at 23-3 but signalled his intent when he hit the fourth ball he faced for six.
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He brought up his century shortly before tea with a clip to square leg off Hamilton Masakadza.
Pretorius was eventually dismissed - after getting lives on 30, 54, 55 and 127 - when he pulled a short ball from Tanaka Chivanga, who took 4-83, into the hands of Masakadza at mid-on.
His knock of 153 off 160 balls included 11 fours and four sixes and was also his highest score in first-class cricket.
"It was amazing. I was quite nervous as 23-3 but it's been a dream come true. I don't think it's sunk it yet. I'm glad today is over," Pretorius said.
"I just love batting, fortunately it worked out for me today. It's a real dream come true, and for my parents and family to be here, it tops it off."
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All-rounder Corbin Bosch also brought up his maiden Test hundred off 124 balls and will resume unbeaten on 100 on day two.
Who is Lhuan-dre Pretorius?
Lhuan-dre Pretorius has made 485 runs in 10 first-class innings at an average of 60.62, including three centuries [Getty Images]
With a batting style and frame which has more than a hint of former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith about it, the stocky leftie looks destined for great things.
Born in Potchefstroom in March 2006 he was educated in South Africa's private schools system and quickly found his way into the professional game.
He was the leading run-scorer at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2024, with 287 runs in six games at an average of 57.40.
Not long after he made his domestic T20 debut in South Africa for the Titans at the age of 17 and caught the eye later in the tournament with 82 off 43 balls against Gauteng.
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Pretorius then made 120 on his first-class debut for Titans against Warriors in December 2024 before an impressive knock on his debut in the SA20 led to wider recognition.
Pretorius scored a career-best 97 T20 franchise debut for Paarl Royals in January 2025, an innings which caught the eye of England captain Ben Stokes.
"One of the many things franchise cricket has done is put young/inexperienced but incredibly talented players opportunities on the biggest stage against the best in the world and show off how good they are. Lhuan-dre Pretorius is doing that right now," Stokes said in a post on X in January.
In May 2025, Pretorius was called up to the Indian Premier League by Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for the injured Nitish Rana and appeared in one match as an impact player but did not bat.
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Following the IPL Pretorius played three games for Hampshire in the T20 Blast, having signed as an overseas player in February, where he made scores of one, 37 and 28.