The world has never felt bigger to Dwaine Pretorius.
Since retiring from international cricket in January 2023 after last playing for South Africa in October 2022, he has been a T20 freelancer, with appearances at every major league you can name. At the moment, he is donning the purple-and-mustard shirt of Sharjah Warriors at the ILT20 in the UAE, and the three-venue format comes with an unexpected advantage: "I actually enjoy the quick turnaround of this tournament. The reason is because there's not much travelling."
That will change at the SA20, starting December 26, where 36-year-old Pretorius is with MI Cape Town. "In the SA20, for instance, there's no time to train," he says. "You've got that week before [SA20 to train], and then, as soon as you get into the tournament, there is no time because you're flying in between cities. You're playing home and away, home and away, home and away. [In the ILT20], when you have an off day, you really have an off day - it's not a travel day."
The freedom to rest is a privilege Pretorius does not take lightly. He has a smile on his face when asked about freelance life. "I've got a little boy and I've obviously got a wife. So, [we figure] out what works the best for us, and then, plan the year going forward, saying that I definitely want to play the CPL." When he did, in September this year, his quick runs and big early wickets almost took Guyana Amazon Warriors to the title.
For Pretorius, figuring out his playing calendar is guided by a couple of questions: "Okay, where else do we want to fit in tournaments for the year? And then, if the family needs me for a certain time period, I make sure that I'm trying to be at home."
Pretorius called time on his career after a rough run with his body.
He was out for six months with a rib injury in 2019. Back in the team and touring during the Covid-19 period, his then four-year-old son was "missing [him] too much". When restrictions faded, he was forced to sit out after breaking his thumb. He ended up missing the T20 World Cup, and decided that was that.
Now, things are different. "If we feel like [travel and games are] becoming a bit tough, that it's a bit long on the road, I don't go into the drafts or the auctions for different tournaments," he says. "So no, I must say the last three years, I've really enjoyed it."
Franchise cricket comes with jeopardy for a player like Pretorius, who is a utility cricketer - a tall allrounder who can be sent down the order as a designated finisher, and given the ball to close out innings with his accuracy. And he knows exactly where he stands. There are players who, as he puts it "just walk into teams and it's a bit easier for them and that's fine, because that's their skillset" and players like him, "guys that really have to perform every game to stay on top of their game - you just need to master what you can do".
"Mentally, there's a lot of ups and downs in the role that I play for teams. But I enjoy the challenge⦠It's also part of my nature to do some problem solving - find out where I went wrong, what can I improve on, how do we get better? It's an ever-evolving game" Dwaine Pretorius
"You are one bad game away from not playing again, or not earning money or not being able to put food on the table, but that's fine," he says. "At the end of the day, if you take care of the process and master your skills and make sure that you're a master of what your skillset is, [the question] becomes - does the team need your skillset or not? And if they don't, then they don't, and I've done everything to give myself the best chance. I don't think you can be the answer for everyone." Like at the IPL, where he had two seasons with Chennai Super Kings and was released after the 2023 season, not to be picked at the auction again.
"You need to keep reinventing yourself, and then speaking to experienced players around the globe, and just taking some information from them," he says about the solution to this issue. "It's really important to not get stuck on the improvement part and really master your skillset, what makes you unique."
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Pretorius burst on to the scene as a youngster who could bowl above 140kph and seemed like he was going to make it to the 2008 Under-19 World Cup. However, he tore a cartilage in his right knee and missed the tournament. Just three years later, his right knee flared up. He missed the 2012 Champions League T20, had surgery, and returned with a "reinvention": his pace dropped to the mid-130s, and what he found instead was the accuracy that has held him in good stead for more than a decade since.
"The guys that can bowl 145-150kph, they bowl the same plan every game… It doesn't really matter what the conditions are like, because that's their skill set, right? But their bodies take a bit more punishment," Pretorius says, returning to the two categories of T20 players he mentioned earlier. As for him, and others like him, "You need to really know and understand what the conditions are doing."
So, the world gets a little narrower, a little more focused: "You need to know what your ball options are. So there's much more thinking that goes behind the scenes, when you're trying to be a player with my specific skillset."
In three out of four matches he has played for Sharjah Warriorz in the ILT20 so far this season, Pretorius has slotted in down the order to score 39 off 20, 36* off 17 and 28 off 13, going at a strike rate of 201.96. His height and quick eyes allow him to sit deep in the crease and swing through the line.
"You only have 12 balls to impact the game [with the bat]. So you can't rock up there, not really sure what the length is that they're going to bowl on this wicket." So, he asks himself: "What are the probable options? You need that information. You don't have six or seven balls to feel the wicket… to find out what this guy is doing. You need to have a straight impact."
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The T20 world has been pivoting from instincts and old-school methods to one driven by data and information for a while now. Pretorius, however, believes that "currently, cricket is really far behind the rest of the world in terms of utilising numbers".
A lot of his preparation goes into "[gathering] as much information as possible - what's nice is if you keep playing against the same players, you start learning their strengths and where they don't like it," he says. "But again, my skill set as an allrounder is not of the nature that I can just rock up and play and have an impact. I need to make sure that all the percentages are in my favour, and that I've done all my own work to make sure that I'm 5% or 10% better. I mean, how hard do we work in the nets to get 5% to 10% better? I believe stats instantly make you 5% or 10% better."
His first match of the tournament was in Sharjah against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. He went for 69 runs, with Liam Livingstone hitting him for five sixes in the final over to take him for 33.
"You either do well… win the team the match. Or you bowl a bad over, and lose the team the match," Pretorius says. "So mentally, there's a lot of ups and downs in the role that I play for teams. But I enjoy the challenge… It's also part of my nature to do some problem solving - find out where I went wrong, what can I improve on, how do we get better? It's an ever-evolving game."
Back at the same ground in Sharjah, with the ball in hand at the backend once more, Pretorius showed he had learned his lessons. He employed cutters and slower balls, taking away pace on a surface where the ball would travel if he had stuck to bowling length and his range of mid-130 clicks. Hiding the ball away from the batters more often than not, he returned to the dugout with much more impressive figures of 2 for 35 from his four overs.
"We are very fortunate in our team to have six or seven bowling options… With bowling, it's a bit more of trying to prepare for three roles, because you might be asked to bowl in the powerplay. What are your plans there? Who are the [top four] in the powerplay? What do they look to do? Prepare for that. Maybe 12 balls in the nets for that type of scenario. Then in the middle, look at the possible batters we might face there. What do they like? What don't they like? And then also at the backend… looking at all the batters, you have that thing there.
"A conversation I had with Mark Boucher one day really transformed my game. At the end of the day, I think players get themselves into trouble if they try and be like someone else and not really master what makes them, them. Ever since that conversation, my batting and my bowling and everything has improved."
For now, Pretorius is making the most of his skillset. And there's plenty left for him to do.
Warriorz have injected momentum in their campaign. They are second-last on the table right now, but a clinical win against Gulf Giants has given them hope halfway through the league stage. After this - as long as he goes bang and not bust - there will be SA20, in his home country. And then, he'll be back to travelling the globe.
For Pretorius, the world remains as big as ever.