South Africa’s young batting sensation lit up his Test debut innings with a brilliant century.
Lhuan-dré Pretorius had a dream start to his international career, marking his Test debut with a remarkable hundred that shattered a six-decade-old record.
Facing Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Pretorius reached his century off 112 balls on the opening day of the first Test. At just 19 years and 93 days old, he became the youngest South African to score a Test century, surpassing the legendary Graeme Pollock. Pollock had held the record since 1964, when he scored a century at 19 years and 317 days against Australia in Sydney.
The youngest centurion in Test history remains Bangladesh’s Mohammad Ashraful, who scored a century on debut at just 17 years and 61 days. Pretorius now ranks tenth on that all-time list.
Pretorius is only the seventh South African to score a century on Test debut—the last was Stephen Cook in 2016 against England in Centurion.
This series against Zimbabwe doesn’t count toward the World Test Championship. Fresh off their Test Championship win over Australia at Lord’s, South Africa rested many of their regular players, opening the door for young talents like Pretorius to shine.
Alongside him, fellow debutants Dewald Brevis and pace-bowling all-rounder Kody Yusuf were also handed their first Test caps.
South Africa chose to bat first and found themselves in trouble early, losing three wickets for 23 runs. Pretorius came to the crease at No. 5 with the score at 55 for 4 and built a 95-run partnership in just 88 balls with Brevis.
Brevis hit three sixes in four balls off leg-spinner Vincent Masekesa and reached his fifty in 38 balls before falling for 51 (41 balls, 7 fours, 4 sixes). Pretorius, meanwhile, brought up his fifty off 52 balls and went on to convert it into a century from 112 deliveries.
After tea, he reached 150 off 157 balls, setting another record as the youngest batter to score 150 in a Test innings—surpassing Pakistan legend Javed Miandad, who made 163 on debut in 1976 at 19 years and 119 days.
Pretorius narrowly missed Miandad’s mark, eventually getting out for 153 off 160 balls, decorated with 11 fours and 4 sixes. South Africa’s score at that point was 289 for 7.
It was his fourth century in just eight first-class matches. Remarkably, Pretorius had scored hundreds in his first two first-class innings, making him only the 23rd player in the world and the third South African to do so.
The teenager had already created waves in domestic white-ball cricket with explosive performances. In last year’s CSA T20 Challenge, he scored 235 runs at a strike rate of nearly 159. In the inaugural SA20 league, he smashed 397 runs at a strike rate of around 167, including a 51-ball 97 on debut. He was the tournament’s leading run-scorer.
In List A cricket, he scored a blistering 120 off 96 balls in his 10th match. In the next game, he blasted five sixes in one over off Test spinner Senuran Muthusamy on his way to a 61-ball hundred.
Earlier this year, Rajasthan Royals signed him late in the IPL as a replacement for Nitish Rana, though he didn’t get a chance to play.
Now, with a record-breaking hundred in his Test debut, Lhuan-dré Pretorius has once again underlined his immense potential—reminding many in South Africa of a young Quinton de Kock or even a left-handed Graeme Smith.
