Five hundreds in 21 innings: South Africa teenage star continues stellar start to first-class career with 80-ball ton

Lhuan-dre Pretorius responds to T20 World Cup exclusion in style

The 19-year-old left-hander appeared for the Titans as the CSA 4-Day Series Division 1 resumed following the completion of the 2025-26 SA20. Having been left out of South Africa's T20 World Cup squad, despite the Proteas requiring several injury replacements, Pretorius came back strongly, smashing a rapid century for his domestic side.

KwaZulu-Natal won the toss and chose to bat first, putting up 286 on the board on the back of opener Malcolm Nofal's 92 and captain Sean Gibson's 73. In response, Titans buried them under a mountain of runs.

Opener Keegan Petersen made a brisk 85 off 125 balls. His dismissal at the team score of 179 brought Pretorius to the crease, who in his typically aggressive style, stroked his way to an 80-ball century, the fifth of his young first-class career. At the other end, he had Neil Brand anchoring the innings. Brand eventually went on to score 178 off 292 balls and was the sixth man dismissed, at the score of 520.

Pretorius had reached his hundred before stumps on day two, but could not go on to convert it into a massive score, as he was dismissed for 119 off 97 balls early on the third day. The Titans eventually folded for 541, taking a lead of 255. KwaZulu-Natal were 156-4 at the end of day three, fighting to prevent an innings defeat.

Pretorius continues brilliant start to first-class career

The left-handed dasher burst onto the scene in SA20 2025, and has gone from strength to strength ever since. Still only 19, Pretorius has debuted in all three formats for South Africa, and also became the youngest South African to score a men's Test hundred when he reached three-figures on debut against Zimbabwe.

Also read: Why Lhuan-dre Pretorius' wrists make him T20 batting's newest unicorn

His first-class career had started on a similarly prolific note, becoming just the third South African player to hit two hundreds in their first two first-class innings.

Following his fifth hundred in the format, his average stands at an impressive 59.10 from 21 innings, with an aggregate of 1,123 runs and a strike rate of 72.9.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius: Career record