Lhuan-dre Pretorius becomes youngest South African to score Test century, breaks several records for WTC champions

Lhuan-dre Pretorius becomes youngest South African to score Test century, breaks several records for WTC champions

Lhuan-dre Pretorius marked a memorable debut for South Africa in Test cricket, bringing up a century in the Proteas’ match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. It was a record-setting century by the dynamic young South African, becoming his nation’s youngest ever centurion, as well as joining the list of the youngest players to score a century on Test debut at just 19 years old.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius celebrates his century in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe, at just 19 years of age.(X)

Pretorius came in with South Africa in trouble at 23/3, Tanaka Chivanga having taken all three wickets to start off the innings. The exciting southpaw batter, who was signed up by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL as a replacement, began to counter-punch and rebuild the innings. It was his 95-run partnership with another debutant in Dewald Brevis that saw both players show their immense potential, taking only 88 deliveries as they took the innings away from Zimbabwe.

At 19 years and 93 days, Pretorius is the 10th youngest centurion in the history of Test cricket, and the fifth youngest to register a century on debut. Pretorius also broke a 61-year record of the youngest South African player to have scored a Test match century, breaking the record set in 1964 by one of the country’s great cricketers, Graeme Pollock.

Pretorius’ innings finished on 153 off just 160 deliveries, his stand finally being brought to an end by Chivanga, after an innings that saw him score 11 fours and smoke four maximums. No player has scored more runs than his tally at a younger age, making him the youngest player to score 150 runs in Test history by breaking Javed Miandad’s record.

The left-hander, who top-scored in the 2025 season of the SA20 to break-through in the Protean circuit, continued to deliver on the promise despite batting out of position from his regular opening role in domestic cricket.

Pretorius is seen as a top prospect for a country that raised the ICC Mace with the World Test Championship victory, and his presence alongside Dewald Brevis (51 on debut) will be a big boost to a country that will receive a very good headache to have in terms of the batters they will need to choose in the near future.