Klaasen, now retired from international cricket, is a player who is known for his ability to consistently make impactful contributions – he hit six fifties in 15 innings at the most recent IPL, for example – and is an obvious choice to discuss the white-ball game with. So what did the man with the fourth-highest career strike rate in ODIs have to say to Pretorius? “He just told me to give myself the best chance I can, and get to 15 balls and put those small targets in. That’s all I was focused on.”

In the first two matches Pretorius played in the tri-series, he faced nine and 13 balls, respectively, and fell trying to pull the short ball both times. In the third game, by his 15th ball, Pretorius had 25 runs, including four fours, and though all his shots were played on the leg side against shorter deliveries, none of them were risky.

He got his first off-side boundary off the 18th ball he faced, and his first six off the 24th ball. While there was no point in the innings where Pretorius was not playing aggressively, he allowed himself a little bit more time to build an innings after what Klaasen told him. Klaasen himself rarely had the time to have a sighter because of his position in the middle order, which only makes his words of wisdom to Pretorius even more powerful. Opening the batting, Pretorius has more time than he thinks he does, and now he has proved that to himself.

“We obviously play different roles. He (Klaasen) bats in the middle, but he’s experienced it,” Pretorius said. “It’s more about mindset. I feel like we can speak, and we have some similarities around it. And he really helped me in terms of my mindset going into today.”

“Every series there are different squads, and my aim is obviously to be in the squad; but I’m still [only] 20 years old. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can, and take every opportunity with every squad I’m fortunate enough to be in”

Lhuan-dre Pretorius

Pretorius’ knock wasn’t flawless. In the 11th over, he was on 57 when he tried to slog sweep Wellington Masakadza, top-edged, and was dropped by Newman Nyamhuri at short third, who may have been put off by the wicketkeeper advancing on the chance first. In the end, Pretorius batted until the end of the 19th over before he moved across his stumps and was bowled by a Brad Evans slower ball which denied him a century, though perhaps he could have gotten there earlier.

Despite being the set batter, Pretorius only faced 12 deliveries between the 16th and 19th overs as his team-mates attempted big shots without success. As time pressure built on him to reach a century, he was the fifth wicket to fall in that four-over period, and will have to wait to raise his bat to three figures.

“I wasn’t too fussed about it. I believe that milestones will come and go.” he said. “It’s a team sport. If I was worried about my milestone, I should rather play tennis or golf. So I wasn’t too upset about it.”

The comparison was all in jest as Pretorius soaks up the experience of playing on his seventh international tour at the age of 20. With all the talk about South Africa’s next five months, which includes visits by Australia, Bangladesh and England, an SA20, and a tour to Sri Lanka, there’s plenty of opportunity on the horizon. Pretorius, with Klaasen in his corner, seems ready to take as many of them as he can.

“Every series there are different squads, and my aim is obviously to be in the squad; but I’m still [only] 20 years old,” he said. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can, and take every opportunity with every squad I’m fortunate enough to be in. If I’m not in the squads, I’ll play domestic cricket and play red-ball cricket [for Titans], which I’m really excited about. So it’s a win-win. I’m really lucky, and I’m really enjoying it.”