Teen prodigy Pretorius revelling in and out of the spotlight

These days, they’re good friends — sharing breakfast, texting each other and having a laugh at the goofy things 19-year-olds find funny — but not too long ago, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Kwena Maphaka were engaged in a bitter rivalry. 

“We go back a long way. We played against each from under-11 to under-13,” Pretorius recalls.

“He always bowled quick. I remember at under-13, he bowled to me with a short leg, and I would just block it and try to frustrate him. We always chirped each other, sometimes it got a bit ugly.”

The nasty words of 13-year-olds are best left to their ears. “But it worked out,” says Pretorius. “We went to (St Stithians) college together and played for a very long time together. It’s much nicer being in his team than against him. We are quite good friends now, he’s very calm, a very nice guy, chilled and does his own thing.” 

After Pretorius and Maphaka starred for the South Africa U-19 team at the 2024 World Cup, they were drafted together for the Paarl Royals at the SA20. There they were endlessly teased about their impending matric results.

They’d snigger over breakfast like typically naughty boys and pinch each other about sharing change rooms with Joe Root and David Miller, and go quiet when Kumar Sangakkara entered the building. “Sanga has an aura,” Pretorius whispers about the Sri Lankan legend who is the global director of cricket at Royals.

“I didn’t really speak to him much. Kwena, Dinesh Karthik and I were at breakfast one morning and Sanga walked in, and you could feel that aura. I didn’t even see him walk in, I could just feel it.”

For all the confidence he exudes, the swagger when he bats, how he seemingly owns the crease and the acclaim that’s come his way, this season in particular, it’s heartening that Pretorius is still in awe at some of the encounters he’s had. 

It’s been an intoxicating summer. One minute it’s Sangakarra at breakfast, the next it’s batting with Root and then earning the award as the SA20’s best batter which he received from Graeme Smith. “It’s not intimidating, it’s actually a dream come true.”

His partnership with Root at the top of the order for Royals created an intriguing overlap between generations. Root, who was no longer regarded as a T20 player, found himself energised by the youngster, while Pretorius hung on every word from one of the game’s greatest batters. “The senior players like Joe, David (Miller) and the coaching staff, were all very supportive,” he says.

The advice he sought from them was more situational than technical. “Like how (Root) played in a particular moment, and what he was thinking. No-one is really the same kind of batter, and so you don’t want to speak technically unless there’s a big problem.”

Unlike Maphaka, who Sangakkara contracted for this year’s IPL, Pretorius has remained in South Africa, and plundered runs for the Northerns Titans, in both One-Day and Four-Day formats. It’s been a little weird, to go from playing in front of thousands in the SA20, where every match was televised, to playing in front of family and a few friends for his province. “There is a big difference noise-wise,” he says.

That’s a very big thing, the pinnacle, it's a dream of mine

—  Lhuan-dre Pretorius on becoming a Protea

“But I try to be the same, to prepare the same, and to play the same. It doesn’t matter about the spectators, it’s still a cricket game and you want to do your best for your team and yourself.”

Pretorius hammered two centuries for the Titans in the One-Day Cup and then continued that form in the Four-Day series, adding a second First Class century in as many innings that he followed with a 50 last week. 

“A big thing for me was to be myself and not change my game because of how many people were watching, or if it was on TV, or who we were playing against. It’s important to stay true to yourself in every moment.”

Which is one reason he’s sought advice from his provincial teammate, Dewald Brevis. There’s a lot that they share — stars at junior international level, contracts in the SA20, the enormous expectations, and so on.  Brevis, who turns 22 later this month, has recent experience that Pretorius feels is beneficial for him.  “I’ve learnt a lot from him. We are both young, and he’s experienced a little bit of what I’m experiencing right now.”

It’s an interesting time for both. 

Brevis has already gone through ups and downs and his career is currently on an upward curve, with calls growing for a return to the Proteas. Pretorius is being mentioned in the national context too, but unlike Brevis who, besides the SA20, signed contracts in the IPL, Major League Cricket and played a couple of T20 Internationals, Pretorius’ professional start has been slightly more normal and quieter. 

“He’s told me what he’s learnt and I’m just trying to sponge off him,” Pretorius says of Brevis. 

Golf as a distraction, and the support of family play a vital role in keeping Pretorius’ mind fresh and his feet on the ground. His dad and brothers offer rowdy support from the family suite in the main pavilion at SuperSport Park.  “They’re my guarantee — family will always be there. It means a lot to me.

“Fortunately, I’ve not experienced it yet, but when you go through tough times — which will definitely come — those are the people you lean on for advice and support. I’m a big fan of golf. I think I might like golf more than cricket, but I’m not very good. I played rugby and then in Grade 10, had to make a decision to stop. That was quite tough. I enjoyed my rugby but I realised I wouldn’t have enough time to be good in both, so I stopped playing rugby.”

The Springbok ambitions have been replaced with dreams of being a Protea. “That’s a very big thing, the pinnacle, it’s a dream of mine. Things will fall into place as long as you do the right things, I’m just trying to stick to a process, it’s working so far and I’m not going to force anything,” he says.