Pretorius Achieves Century on Test Debut, Becomes Fifth-Youngest Player

BULAWAYO: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, South Africa’s up-and-coming wicketkeeper-batter, established numerous records on Saturday with his remarkable debut innings, surpassing even the record held by Pakistani great Javed Miandad.

Pretorius, debuting in Test cricket at 19 years and 93 days during the first Test match against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club, immediately left his mark with a fantastic knock of 153 runs.

His innings allowed him to surpass the record previously held by the legendary Miandad, who at 19 years and 119 days, was the youngest to cross the 150-run mark in Test matches. Miandad achieved this milestone with a score of 163 against New Zealand in Lahore back in 1976.

Additionally, Pretorius is now the youngest South African batter to achieve a Test century, exceeding Graeme Pollock’s record, who reached the milestone at 19 years and 317 days in 1964.

Globally, he stands as the fifth-youngest batter to score a century in his first Test appearance, joining prominent players such as Pakistan’s Saleem Malik, India’s Prithvi Shaw, Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza, and Bangladesh’s Mohammad Ashraful.

Moreover, Pretorius is now the seventh South African batter to achieve a century upon their Test debut.

List of South African Centurions on Test Debut
  • Andrew Hudson – 163 vs WI, Bridgetown, 1992
  • Jacques Rudolph – 222* vs BAN, Chattogram, 2003
  • Alviro Petersen – 100 vs IND, Eden Gardens, 2010
  • Faf du Plessis – 110* vs AUS, Adelaide, 2012
  • Stiaan van Zyl – 101* vs WI, Centurion, 2014
  • Stephen Cook – 115 vs ENG, Centurion, 2016
  • Lhuan-dre Pretorius – 109* vs ZIM, Bulawayo, 2025*

The left-handed batter reached his landmark century in just 112 deliveries, marking the quickest century for South Africa on debut in Test format.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius also surpassed former captain AB de Villiers’s record for the fastest 150 runs in Tests.

De Villiers had set the previous benchmark of 162 balls against Australia in 2012, while Pretorius achieved it in 157 balls.

His remarkable innings, along with Corbin Bosch’s first-ever century, helped South Africa reach a total of 418/9 on the initial day against Zimbabwe.