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19-Year-Old Debutant Lhuan-Dre Pretorius Enters History Books With An Epic Century 

Aashay Chopade

Lhuan-dre Pretorius for South Africa (Source:@ProteasMenCSA/X.com)Lhuan-dre Pretorius for South Africa (Source:@ProteasMenCSA/X.com)

Lhuan-dre Pretorius, the promising South African youngster, has created history on his debut with a century off just 112 balls. He is just 19 years and 93 days old and has become the youngest player to score a century for South Africa, breaking the 61-year-old record held by Graeme Pollock.

The left-handed batter is also the seventh South African batter to score a century on Test debut and is the youngest to do so. The young batter has an excellent domestic record, and this is his fourth first-class century in just the eighth game.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius Delivers For South Africa Under Pressure On Test Debut

Lhuan-dre Pretorius walked out to bat at number 5 with his team in all sorts of trouble at 23 for three. The situation was tricky, but the youngster displayed no nerves as he slammed a six on just his fourth ball. He hit another four on the next delivery and kept finding boundaries at regular intervals.

Pretorius found an able partner in the form of another debutant, Dewald Brevis. The two stitched together a counter-attacking stand, and Pretorius got to his fifty in 54 balls. The batter did not relax after the half-century, and even though he lost Dewald Brevis on the way, the cricketer continued to show his wide range. He eventually reached the hundred in the 50th over, which included two sixes and seven fours.

The 112-ball hundred by the 19-year-old is the fastest century on Test debut by a Proteas batter in Test cricket. The earlier record was held by Stiaan van Zyl, who scored a century on Test debut off 129 balls.

Fastest Test Centuries For South Africa On Debut

  • 112 balls - Lhuan-dre Pretorius vs Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, 2025
  • 129 balls - Stiaan van Zyl vs West Indies, Centurion, 2014
  • 160 balls - Alviro Petersen vs India, Kolkata, 2010

Overall, Lhuan-dre Pretorius' record-breaking century has taken South Africa out of deep waters against a spirited Zimbabwe unit. The wickets are still falling at the other end, and the Proteas would hope that the youngster carries on and takes them to a big first innings score.