Lhuan-dre Pretorius has attributed his early success with the Paarl Royals to the coaching staff for giving him “full licence to play”.

The 18-year-old opening batsman has been the standout performer in the opening rounds of this SA20 season, striking two belligerent half-centuries at his Boland Park home ground.

He followed up his debut 97 with another 83 off 52 balls in the Cape derby against MI Cape Town to push his aggregate to 206 runs at an average of 68.66 and a strike-rate of 179.13.

The powerful left-hander sits comfortably atop the competition’s run-scorer’s list and is an early frontrunner for the SA20 Rising Star award.

He is also fast growing an affinity with the Royals faithful with the locals cheering on every boundary with gusto.

“I’m absolutely loving my time here with the Royals,” Pretorius said after the six-wicket victory over MI Cape Town. “The coaches are backing me to play my normal game, which is aggressive. I have full licence to play.”

Pretorius also feels he can now focus even more on his time with the Royals having received his positive matric results earlier this week.

“I was more nervous on the bus, because we got our results before we played MI [at Newlands],” he said. “I was more stressed about getting the results, than the actual game.”

Royals captain David Miller has certainly been impressed with how quickly Pretorius has adapted to senior cricket in his first SA20 season.

“He’s a phenomenal talent, really special to have him in the team,” Miller said. “There’s been a lot of young players that have come through the years, and I just think he’s something very special. I haven’t seen a lot of young players play the way that he does.

“The free flow, the back flow. He plays very late, he plays short balls really well, plays spin well. And yeah, I mean, he’s actually he’s really good thinker about the game.

“So it’s great to have him part of the setup and obviously contributing and putting in match winning performances for us. So very, very lucky to have him.”

The Royals’ next game against the Pretoria Capitals on Saturday will also be a familiar setting for Pretorius as he plays his domestic cricket there for the Titans.

Photo: Shaun Roy/Sportzpics

Lhuan-dre Pretorius starred in the Paarl Royals’ six-wicket win over MI Cape Town at Boland Park on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old opening batsman smashed three sixes and eight boundaries in 52-ball 83 to follow up his 97 on debut at the same ground.

Chasing down MI Cape Town’s 158-4, Pretorius benefited from two dropped catches to power the hosts to victory to avenge Monday’s defeat at Newlands.

The powerful left-hander struck the ball sweetly all around Boland Park but was particularly severe on left-arm spinner George Linde with a couple of sixes over the leg-side boundary.

Pretorius’ innings was only ended through a magnificent piece of fielding from MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan, who threw the stumps down with a direct hit.

But Pretorius had already done the major damage which allowed Royals skipper David Miller to comfortably take his team over the line with an undefeated 22.

HIGHLIGHTS: Paarl Royals vs MI Cape Town (SA20)

MI Cape Town had earlier battled towards a competitive total due to Rassie van der Dussen’s 91* off 64 balls (five fours, five sixes).

Reeza Hendricks provided support with a solid 30, but once he was clean bowled for the second time by Royals mystery spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman the home team took control.

Mujeeb (2-27) along with Sri Lankan debutant Dunith Wellalage (0-17) and Joe Root (1-24) utilised the spin friendly conditions to their advantage as they tightened the noose around the MI Cape Town middle order.

It proved to be the difference on the night as the Royals moved into joint second place with the Joburg Super Kings on eight points.

MI Cape Town remain top of the table with nine points, but have played one game more than their two closest rivals.

Photo: Shaun Roy/Sportzpics

Bash 97 off 57 balls on your Paarl Royals debut. Hit the leading bowlers in SA20 history Marco Jansen and Ottneil Baartman for six. And share a 132-run opening partnership with arguably the best batsman in the world, Joe Root.

Not even in his wildest dreams would Lhuan-dre Pretorius have fantasised that it could all have gone this well.

“I was just thinking about winning the game, to be honest, before playing. If you told me before the game I’d get that score, I would take that any day. It’s a real dream come true,” Pretorius beamed.

The 18-year-old has patiently waited for over a year for his day in the spotlight after missing last year’s SA20 due to World Cup international commitments.

It was during this global youth tournament that the powerfully-built left-hander bunted 287 runs at an average of 57.40 – the sixth most runs in the competition and highest by a South African. The run tally included 37 boundaries – the most by any batsman – and six maximums.

It was enough to convince the Royals to incorporate the Season 2 Rookie pick into their regular squad for this season. And after just one game the investment has already reaped the desired rewards.

The odds were always stacked in favour of the Royals, though. Pretorius had been one of the standout schoolboys in the South African high school system for some time.

Initially educated at St Stithians Boys’ College in Johannesburg where he was schoolmates with fellow Royals teen debutant Kwena Maphaka, Pretorius switched to Cornwall Hill College in Centurion for his matric year due to the Titans having offered him his first senior professional contract.

The Titans talent scouts were certainly spot on with Pretorius recently striking a maiden first-class century on debut while averaging 43.50 in List A cricket.

“I think I’ve found a nice rhythm and I’m in decent form, so I’m just trying to ride the wave for as long as possible,” Pretorius said. “There’s obviously going to be ups and downs in this sport, as you all know. So I’m in good, decent form now, so I’m just trying to ride the wave.

“The school I matriculated at, Cornwall Hill College, was also helpful to me and they would help me a lot with schoolwork so I could focus more on cricket but also balance it with schoolwork. So yeah, it’s been a tough year, but an exciting year. Waiting for the results on Monday.”

There are few teenagers who can post a picture on Instagram of themselves standing in the middle of the pitch while batting with former England captain Root, though.

From playing all around the wicket to earning plaudits from Joe Root and the Boland Park faithful alike, Lhuan-dre Pretorius had a dream SA20 debut in pink.

But what actually could a Gen Z and a Millennial have been speaking about during their match-winning partnership?

“Joe just told me to keep pumping it!” Pretorius said.

The simplicity of the answer certainly is much like Pretorius batting style – hit the ball as hard as possible.

There is a distinct likeness to a certain Quinton de Kock in approach. Both with willow in hand and behind the microphone.

It was left to Root to delve into more detail.

“He is such a strong boy, hits the ball so cleanly, and such a wide range of areas he can access, so it was just me telling him to time the ball and not over hit,” Root said.

“It was all about keeping things simple for him. The more he trusted his ability, the cleaner he struck it. He made things easy for me and hopefully he can build on that and go to bigger and better things as the tournament progresses.”

Root may have enjoyed the best seat in the house to fully appreciate Pretorius pyrotechnics, but current England Test captain Ben Stokes was keeping a close eye too.

Stokes, who could have been playing against Pretorius in the SA20 Western Cape derby for MI Cape Town at Newlands on Monday but for an injury having ruled him out of the competition, was suitably impressed with the Royals teen.

Virtually emotionless the entire day despite his heroics, Pretorius could not hold back a smile when told of the England captain’s high praise.

“Stokes is actually my brother’s role model, and I also look up to him,” he said. “It means a lot to me.”

If Pretorius continues to play the way he did at Boland Park on Saturday, he and the Royals will be smiling for a little while yet.

Photo: Shaun Roy/Sportzpics