Lhuan-dre Pretorius is an extraordinary, once-in-a-generation talent. Not in the AB de Villiers or Dale Steyn category, but more in the Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith mould, more luxury sedan than sports car. Or four-by-four in Smith’s case.
The 19-year-old has unusual power, but that is secondary to his ability to read and understand the nuances of each format he plays.
Except — he isn’t the only one in his generation. There’s Dewald Brevis, too. SA have two young batsmen with the world at their feet, they are that good. Pretorius became the sixth player in history to score a century on first-class as well as Test debut and the youngest to score 150 in a Test match when he made 153 from just 160 balls against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Sunday.
Graeme Pollock was a little older and no doubt a little more challenged in scoring his 209 against Australia at Newlands in 1966 but that does not diminish the achievement of fellow left-hander, Pretorius, who arrived at the crease admittedly “nervous” at 23/3 in the Test Champions first outing since their Lord’s triumph two weeks ago.
Statistics and player surveys tell us that between 85% and 90% of dismissals in professional cricket are due to “batter error” rather than “bowler success”. Mostly, those errors are caused by poor shot selection rather than execution. The “secret” to Pretorius’ record-breaking early success, from T20 cricket with the Paarl Royals to the Test side, is his rare ability to match the appropriate shot to the right ball. And then, obviously, execute it.
Whisper it but there was also a grimacing respect from old pros in the country who watched Pretorius’ wide-eyed innocence after inside-edging a delivery to the keeper before reaching 50. There is no (costly) DRS system in place for this series, which falls outside the World Test Championship points allocation and Pretorius, despite his youth rather than because of it, survived by brilliant bluff.
Most of Pretorius’ records were adequately documented but Brevis, too, notched one which went largely under the radar; the quickest 50 in a debut Test innings, rather than debut Test, coming in just 38 balls. Not since Jacques Kallis in the mid-1990s have SA had a cricketer who simply “had to be” accommodated in the starting XI. Now they have two.
Kallis, because he bowled too, was squeezed in at No 7 to start his career. Pretorius must bat in the top order while Brevis, who also bowls respectable albeit part-time leg-spin, can be shoehorned into the lower order. But they must both be a part of the immediate future, fearless and bold, and not be held back by caution.
Romantic as it would have been for the world champions to have stayed together to perform a “victory lap” in Bulawayo, it’s not the way professional cricket works these days. Only four of the XI are playing against Zimbabwe and the chances of the band getting back together are remote. With just four Tests this year, two each in Pakistan and India, and then nothing for almost a year — home or away — many of the squad will be compelled to focus on different formats and alternative ways of making a living.
It is one of the reasons why SA still has fewer specialists and more multi-format players than the other Test-playing nations with the obvious exception captain, Temba Bavuma. Though he remains a fine 50-over cricketer and plays domestic T20 cricket, there have been no offers or opportunities for him to supplement his SA earnings in T20 leagues around the world or even a stint in county cricket.
It was noted at the time of his match-changing partnership of 147 with Aiden Markram at Lord’s that Bavuma’s last competitive match had been some five months earlier; noted but certainly not fully appreciated. His physical and mental dedication to practise and training, often without teammates, went unnoticed by all but a few.
Bavuma’s immediate reward came in London when he lifted the Test mace, but long term it will be a permanent place in the highest echelons of the country’s cricket history.
It is ironic that either Pretorius or Brevis wouldn’t have debuted in Bulawayo had Bavuma been fit, but nobody knows or understands the game’s ironies better than he does.
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