Much is going to be expected of rising talent Lhuan-dré Pretorius after his record breaking exploits.
Two of the Proteas most exciting rising talents Dewald Brevis and Lhuan-dre Pretorius during the Proteas T20I against Namibia at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek in September. Picture: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
Rising South African cricket star Lhuan-dré Pretorius has broken two world records in the past month, and is just 20-years-old, which begs the question, how much better can he get?
His latest brilliant effort saw him break West Indian legend Chris Gayle’s individual T20 scoring record, after he blitzed an unbeaten 188 off 79 balls playing for the Titans against the Knights in the Pro20 Cup competition in Bloemfontein on Friday.
It became the highest ever individual score in a T20 match, eclipsing Gayle’s incredible effort of 175 not out off 66 balls for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Pune Warriors in the 2013 Indian Premier League.
The record came hot on the heels of Pretorius becoming the youngest player from an ICC full member nation to score a T20 international century when he hit 101 off 53 balls against Namibia last month.
But the next question that has to be asked, is will he be able to build on this and become one of the Proteas’ best players over the coming years – in all formats?
Dual talents
It is hard not to compare Pretorius to another burgeoning talent, his teammate at the Titans, Dewald Brevis, who much has been expected of, but so far has been unable to reach the potential he showed as a young cricketer.
When Brevis burst on the scene at the 2022 U19 Cricket World Cup, scoring the most runs in the tournament’s history, he received the heavy moniker of “Baby AB”, in reference to his similar batting style to Proteas legend AB de Villiers.
However, that may have been more of a curse than a blessing as it has placed massive pressure on one of the country’s most prodigious talents.
Brevis has shown flashes of that talent, with him the previous South African T20 individual scoring record holder, after he hammered 162 off 57 balls against the Knights back in 2022 as a 19-year-old.
He also holds the T20 international individual scoring record for a South African batter, after he smashed an unbeaten 125 off 66 balls against Australia Down Under last year.
But his form has been inconsistent and despite now being 23 he is not a Proteas regular, especially in the longer formats of the game.
After his recent record breaking exploits much will now be expected of Pretorius, in all formats of the game, and we will have to wait to see if he can live up to the inevitable hype that will now follow him.
