Lhuan-dre Pretorius has played 22 matches across formats for his country. In that period, he has managed just one international century — a marvellous 153 on Test debut last year.
But for a youngster who has already struck 11 centuries in just over two years on the professional circuit, and was accustomed to churning out tons almost every other weekend at school level, he knows the currency of three figures.
So, just how did he feel at Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek on Tuesday, when he fell just one mighty blow short of a maiden T20I century?
“Ag, it’s fine. I was a bit gutted because we said after 14 overs we wanted to get to 200. I knew that if we got to 200 I would get to the milestone,” Pretorius said, after the Proteas’ 43-run victory over their northern neighbours, Zimbabwe.
“T20 hundreds are very rare. International T20 hundreds are even more rare. But I wasn’t too fussed about it. I believe milestones will come and go.
“It’s a team sport; if I was worried about my milestones, I should rather play tennis or golf.”
The fact that the Proteas were on track for 200 but only ultimately managed 185/7 had more to do with Pretorius’ teammates than him falling for 94 with an over to go.
The Proteas were handily placed at 154/1 with just under five overs remaining before Dewald Brevis’ quest for a third consecutive T20I half-century was ended. From then on, a procession of batters came and went, all trying to use the long handle to clear the boundary, instead of feeding the strike to the set batter.
Pretorius faced just 12 deliveries between the 16th and 19th overs, which not only derailed the Proteas’ momentum, but also the swashbuckling left-hander’s.
Was he aggrieved by the lack of support?
“I wouldn’t say so,” he said. “Yeah, we weren't too many wickets down going into the last six overs. But what they did well, they got the ball very soft during the middle.
“And it was really hard to ... With the wind, they bowled well to the long boundary. And they maximised using the wind. They got the ball very soft, so it was hard to get away.
“I was the in-batter and that’s how T20 cricket works. As a top five, one batter can put his hand up and win the game. Brevi did it in the first two. Today was my day. Hopefully, in the next game, it’s someone else’s day.
“Then you have to maximise because T20 cricket is a game of high risk and small margins of error.”
Pretorius will get another chance to reach three figures when the Proteas face hosts Namibia in their final group match on Friday.