Proteas coach stresses importance of managing Lhuan-dre Pretorius

The 19-year-old has not been included in the white ball leg of the tour of India, despite playing in both the T20 and ODI series in Pakistan last month.

Conrad says Pretorius was only left out due to the many options they’ve got at the top of the batting order, and insists that he should be allowed to grow in his game without too much international cricket all at once.

"A host of guys are at the top of the order, and that is pretty much where Lhuan has been successful. I think people must also be careful of not wanting things to happen too soon for certain players. He's got a journey ahead of him and we have to be patient while creating opportunities when we can."

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He explained that the shortest format in particular can be tricky to navigate as a youngster, and says he’s got a plan for Pretorius in the team to prevent a situation where he’s criticised and loses confidence.

"T20 is a very difficult format to come in and stake a claim because you can easily go 0,1, and 3 and the whole world is writing you off again so we are very comfortable with the plan we have in place for Lhuan."

Meanwhile…a player that has earned favour with Conrad is Tony de Zorzi, who has looked a lot more comfortable on their Asian tour.

The coach admitted that he’s always believed that de Zorzi is more of a sub-continent player.

"Tony is a massive character, he loves a challenge and he is the type of character we want in our group and his ability matches that. 

"He missed out at Lords yes, but I always felt that his test game was a lot more suited to the sub-continent."

He believes that with the confidence he’s got from both the Australian and UK tour, he can be an asset for the team within the limited overs space.