Who is Lhuan-dre Pretorius? 20-year-old South African registers maiden T20I hundred during Namibia Tri-nation series

Having missed his maiden T20I hundred by just six runs a couple of earlier, Lhuan-dre Pretorius made sure he doesn't miss the chance on Friday as the South African left-hander notched up his first-ever century in the shortest format, against Namibia in the final round-robin game of the Tri-nation T20I series at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek.

Starting from where he left in the previous game against Zimbabwe, Pretorius started on a slower side initially as his opening partner Connor Esterhuizen entertained the crowd on a bright sunny day. It was actually Esterhuizen's 24 runs in the ninth over off Jack Brassell, that brought up South Africa's 100 runs.

Pretorius actually started to change gears post powerplay and brought up his fifty in the 11th over in just 28 deliveries. Although Esterhuizen missed his hundred by just 12 runs in the next over, Pretorius went with his business, before slowing down a bit in the middle.

With 11 runs needed in the final over to reach his maiden T20I hundred, Pretorius struck two sixes off Gerhard Erasmus in the first three balls to hold his hands aloft in celebration. He was finally dismissed in the next ball as an Erasmus yorker got the better of him. He was dismissed for 101 off just 53 deliveries, which included five fours and eight sixes.

Riding on Pretorius' 101 and Esterhuizen's 88, South Africa posted 228/4 in 20 over, after batting first.

All you need to know about Lhuan-dre Pretorius

Like every other teen, Pretorius journey with cricket started at a very young age. His father Abe Pretorius took him to the Senwes Park - home of the North West Dragons - regularly for practice and also set up a training net at their home Potchefstroom.

As a result, Pretorius had the privilege of spending time with the national team players like Bjorn Fortuin and Rassie van der Dussen from a very young age. Growing up, Pretorius went to the prestigious St Stithians College, which produced Kagiso Rabada, Grant Elliot and Kwena Maphaka.

Pretorius first came into limelight during the 2024 U-19 World Cup when he emerged as South Africa's highest run-scorer with 287 runs in six games at an average of 57.40 and a strike rate of 94.09, with three half-centuries. That performance gave him the much-needed exposure.

Aged 17 years, Pretorius made his domestic debut in the CSA T20 Challenge, and made an impression with a 82 off just 43 balls against Gauteng. His big break came the next year when Paarl Royals roped Pretorius in the SA20 and scored 51-ball 97 on debut against Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Pretorius was in the talk once again when he left-hander smashed 83 from 52 balls against MI Cape Town. In fact, Pretorius was signed as a replacement player at Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) the same year. Paarl Royals is a sister franchise of Rajasthan Royals.

Pretorius scored his maiden T20 hundred the next year at the Major League Cricket (MLC) for San Fransisco Unicorns, scoring 102 off 52 balls against MI New York. He eventually made his international debut in 2025 and became the youngest South African to make a Test match century at 19 years and 93 days. He scored 153 on debut against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.