Exclusive: Allan Donald Hails Lhuan-dre Pretorius After Heroic 4-Day Final Knock

Fast-bowling great Allan Donald has seen, dismissed and coached against a multitude of batsmen, but he says seeing a 19-year-old playing with as much maturity as Lhuan-dre Pretorius did in the CSA 4-Day Series final was a first for him.

Donald took 1216 first-class wickets, primarily for Warwickshire and Free State in a career that spanned from 1985 to 2004, and he also claimed 330 wickets in 72 Tests at an average of just 22.25, a phenomenal record that marks him out as a legend of the game.

The 58-year-old is now the bowling coach for the Central Gauteng Lions, who were held to a draw by the Northerns Titans in the 4-Day Series final at the Wanderers. It meant that although the Lions had topped the round-robin log, they had to share the trophy with their neighbours.

The Titans managed a share of the title was largely thanks to Pretorius, who batted for more than five hours on the final day in their follow-on innings to put them ahead with not enough time remaining in the final for the Lions to chase down the 82 runs they needed for outright victory.

The left-handed Pretorius finished with 114, his third century of his maiden first-class campaign in which he scored 436 runs in seven innings at an average of 72.66.

"Lhuan-dre played an immense innings beyond his years, the maturity he showed was beyond belief. I haven't seen a 19-year-old bat like that before, he batted unbelievably well," Donald told sportsboom.co.za.

"He just looked so in his bubble, he was unfazed and not rattled by anything. When he was finally trapped lbw missing a sweep at Bjorn Fortuin, we all stood up in the Lions changing room and clapped for him because that was a proper performance."

"He managed to get under the skin of our payers and made saving the game look stupidly easy. We know from his white-ball performances that he can change gears too. But to have that level of savvy - dealing with the bowlers whether they bowled over or around the wicket, the rough outside his off-stump, the needle that was out there - was incredible and shows that he is a special talent that needs to be looked after," Donald said.

Pretorius himself says that playing red-ball, multi-day cricket is the pinnacle for him and the greatest classroom he can get.

Cards up his sleeve

Whatever plan the Lions bowlers tried against him, Pretorius always seemed to have a card up his sleeve to counter it. 

Donald said their analysis of the left-hander, led by the renown Prasanna Agoram, had shown him being troubled by bowlers coming over the wicket and nicking him off with the angle across him.

But in the final, Pretorius looked totally immune to the tactic. The Lions perhaps did not test him enough from around the wicket, angling deliveries into him and then straightening them away towards the slips.

International left-arm spinner Fortuin had to bowl 30 wicketless overs to Pretorius despite the rough outside his off-stump.

So how on earth did a 19-year-old develop such cricket smarts in his first full season of senior cricket?

Saints spot talent

The prestigious St Stithians College, the school attended by current Proteas Kagiso Rabada, Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton and Kwena Maphaka, were able to spot his talent when he was just 14 years old, choosing him for their 1st XI. 

Pretorius made a century on debut against another of Johannesburg's top cricket schools, St David's Marist. He made the most centuries in the school's history, remarkable considering the quality of batsmen such as Rickelton, Mulder and other old boys like Roy Pienaar, England representative Michael Lumb and Black Caps star Grant Elliott who Saints have produced.

But dominating his peers was not enough for the youngster born in Klerksdorp, a former hub of the gold mining industry in North-West province. 

Pretorius played men's club cricket for Old Edwardians, the club that has won the most trophies in Gauteng cricket history. He earned his spot in the 1st XI aged just 16-years-old and helped them to national titles with more than 2000 quickfire runs in 51 matches.

Playing with seasoned adults not only fast-tracked the way he thinks about the game, but also toughened him up as Gauteng club cricket is no place for a shrinking violet.

Earlier this year he was chosen by the Paarl Royals for the SA20 competition and finished as the highly-competitive tournament's highest run-scorer, striking at 166.80. Playing alongside international stars like Dinesh Karthik, David Miller and Joe Root saw his learning increase even more.

"I try and speak to the right people and the SA20 helped a lot with that. I was with legends of the game there and you learn more off the field. It's about having the right conversations with the right people. Otherwise I think I've just been in the right place at the right time," Pretorius told sportsboom.co.za in an exclusive interview.

Poor situation

But his cricketing smarts and maturity really came to the fore in the 4-Day Series final, when the Titans were in a desperately poor situation. Pretorius showed he's not afraid to be the bad boy, if it helps his team.

"I hit as many balls as I can, two hours every day, but four-day cricket is how you learn to bat so long. That gives me satisfaction, it was so worth it in the end. But you can get mentally tired, a bit drained, and then you could take things for granted. But I came from the Lions originally so there was a bit more motivation, and I tried to pick a fight with Codi Yusuf, who I played with at the Paarl Royals."

"So we had a go at each other and that got me going, it was good for me. You feel like you deserve your hundred more when it's tough, when you need to be at your best. Four-day cricket really tests you technically, mentally and physically," Pretorius said.

Complete batsman

Given that he has already shown he is a complete batsman in all three formats, Pretorius looks perfectly capable of playing for South Africa at a very young age, like his hero growing up, Quinton de Kock. A left-handed wicketkeeper/batsman like Pretorius, De Kock made his Proteas debut four days after his 20th birthday.

"Four-day cricket is the pinnacle, I believe, it tests everything about your development as a player. It's really tough batting for a long time through different phases of the game, getting used to conditions and how they change, and playing your game accordingly," Pretorius said.

The most exciting new talent in South African cricket will be playing for the SA A side in three one-dayers and two four-day matches in the West Indies from May 21, after which he will be heading to Hampshire to play in the T20 Blast.