Northerns Titans captain Neil Brand believes Lhuan-dre Pretorius should be brought into the Proteas set-up. KHUNULOGO MPOLOKENG reports.
The 19-year-old scored a match-saving 114 on the fifth and final day of the 4-Day Series final against the Central Gauteng Lions at the Wanderers to secure a draw and share the title.
Pretorius finished the tournament with 436 runs in seven innings at an average of 72.66 to cap off a memorable season in which he also starred for the Titans in the One-Day Cup and for the Paarl Royals in the SA20.
REPORT: Lions, Titans share 4-Day Series title
“It’s his third hundred for us [in the 4-Day Series] this season, which is quite scary,” said Brand. “His batsmanship is on another level, it looks like he’s been playing the game at this level for years. It’s really encouraging and good for cricket in South Africa; I hope they do get him into the national set-up pretty quickly because I think he’s ready.”
“I was saying to [batting coach] Albie Morkel that his batsmanship in the last couple of days has been incredible to watch. Just the way he’s figured out what the bowlers are trying to do and his plans to combat that have been phenomenal to watch. He’s got all the shots, all the talent in the world; he’s really hungry to score runs and hits thousands of balls every week.
“The sky is the limit for him and for [Dewald] Brevis as well.”
ALSO: Pretorius heeds Brevis’ warnings
After losing the first four sessions of the 4-Day Series final due to a wet outfield, the Lions scored 413-7 declared before skittling out the Titans for a paltry 123.
The Titans were then bowled out for 371 in their follow-on innings, having taken a lead of 81, when bad light ended play on day five.
“The Lions getting 400 was quite challenging for us as batters,” said Brand. “They’ve got a good bowling attack and they bowled really well all season.
“There are no excuses from our side, we couldn’t match the intensity in the first couple of days. But we’ve had really good conversations, and what I’m proud of most about this group is that these last five days have really brought us tighter together.
“There was a feisty game out there and we backed each other nicely, and I think that showed today with the fight that we put up.”
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Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
