Lhuan-dre Pretorius biffs maiden 1-Day Cup century at Newlands to rekindle memories of a young Graeme Smith

It was at the turn of the millennium when a strongly built left-handed opener took guard for Western Province at Newlands.

It was the start of a journey that would see the teenager bloom into one of the Proteas’ greatest batters. 

For many who sat under The Oaks watching Graeme Smith flick numerous balls off his legs and power pull shots to the boundary, there was a great sense of pride in being able to say they were there from the very start.

There was a similar feeling for those present on a balmy Wednesday afternoon at Newlands that they may possibly be witnessing history repeat itself.

At 18 years old, Lhuan-dre Pretorius is even younger than Smith was when the former Proteas skipper swapped Gauteng’s hustle and bustle for the leafy surroundings of Cape Town’s southern suburbs. 

But Pretorius has that same intimidating presence at the crease, where his trigger movement covers up the entire stumps, and almost forces bowlers to bowl on his pads.

The Province seam attack certainly offered up their fair share of buffet balls in the Cricket SA 1-Day Cup encounter, which Pretorius feasted upon during his brilliant 120 off 96 balls (11x4, 7x6), which incidentally was the teenager’s maiden List A century too. 

The global cricket landscape is a little bit different now, though, than when Smith was making his way, with Pretorius already a feature beyond the Newlands diehards.

Equally, the teenager is more recognisable in Paarl Royals pink than the Titans sky blue he was parading on Wednesday. 

That’s because Pretorius was the rage last month in the Betway SA20 – ironically the competition that Smith now heads up – when he shot the lights out in South Africa’s premier domestic competition.

In his very first season of professional cricket, the Cornwall Hill matriculant topped the SA20 run-scorers list with 397, at a strike-rate of 166.81.

“I did say in a previous interview that I wouldn’t have minded winning the title and not winning the award,” Pretorius exclusively told Independent Media. 

“But yeah, I’ll take it (SA20 Batter of the Season award). Different format now, though.

“I’d like to ride the wave in the 1-Day Cup. Great to carry the momentum from SA20 into this competition.”

The rewards of the SA20 for young South African talent is already limitless, with Pretorius having spent six weeks playing and training alongside legends of the game such as former England captain Joe Root and India’s T20 World Cup-winner Dinesh Karthik. 

Pretorius also has the added benefit of having his Titans head coach Richard das Neves with him at the Royals as part of the Paarl side’s coaching staff.

“Yeah, I know. It’s amazing. I learnt a lot (during SA20),” he said.

“Not just on the field, but off the field as well. I’m just trying to take that in, and use it now to utilise it in the 1-Day Cup.

“And again, that experience that you get. You’re playing with big, big players all the time. 

“Having Richard around all year is great too. He really knows my game inside out. I think he might know it better than me!”

The calls for Pretorius to be elevated to the international stage, especially with the next T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka less than a year away, are already growing louder after each sensational performance.

But the former SA Under-19 prodigy doesn’t want to look any further than doing well for the Titans in the CSA 1-Day Cup, and his pending debut for Hampshire in England’s T20 Blast.

“I just want to score as many runs as I can,” he said. “Contribute to the team in every aspect I can, and help the team win the title.”