Cricketer Lhuan-dre Pretorius has made history, becoming the youngest South African to score a Test century on debut, achieving the milestone on the first day of the first Test against Zimbabwe on Saturday.
At just 19 years and 93 days old, the left-handed batsman displayed fearless aggression, arriving at the crease with his team in a precarious position at 23 for three at Queens Sports Club.
Pretorius immediately made his intentions clear, hitting a six off the fourth ball he faced from left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza, sharing a broad smile with his batting partner Wiaan Mulder.
He continued his powerful innings, adding another six and seven fours, reaching his century off just 112 balls as South Africa’s score reached 207 for six, half an hour before tea.
Pretorius surpasses Graeme Pollock, who held the record as South Africa’s youngest centurion at 19 years and 318 days when he scored 120 against Australia in Sydney in 1963/64.
He is now the seventh South African to achieve a century on Test debut and the tenth youngest Test centurion of all time globally. This list is topped by Mohammad Ashraful of Bangladesh, who was 17 years and 61 days old when he scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in 2001.
This century marks a continuation of Pretorius’s meteoric rise, having also scored a century on his first-class debut last December at the age of 18. He has now accumulated four centuries in just eight first-class matches, solidifying his promising career.
