Adnaan Lagadien admitted he was “shaking a bit” at the start of his innings before overcoming his nerves to score a brilliant 106 off 58 balls for the CSA Emerging side against Western Province Cobras at Newlands.

It was a significant opportunity for the young batter as he tested himself against senior domestic opposition in the T20 format.

But despite what followed, Lagadien revealed he was far from relaxed before walking out to bat.

“This morning I was very nervous.

“I just picked up my bat as soon as I woke up. I was shadow batting the whole day. Eventually decided to go shower and then just try to clear my mind, but when I went out to bat I was extremely nervous.

“So yeah, I was glad I just got past the first 10 balls and then I settled in.”

Shadow batting is already an important part of Lagadien’s preparation.

“Usually I’ll just try to get a mirror and then try to just shape, get my shape in properly.

“It just gets my motions going, foot movement and just the mechanics of the shots.”

‘I was shaking a bit’

Walking out at Newlands against Western Province brought another level of pressure.

Lagadien didn’t attempt to hide the nerves he felt during the early stages of his innings.

“At the start, yeah, as I said, I was very nervous.

“I was shaking a bit. After I hit that first boundary, I felt a bit more at ease.”

Support from his batting partner also helped him settle.

“The batsman at the non-striker, he just kept checking up on me, asking if I was all okay.

“Just making sure that I’m still locked in.”

Amid everything going through his mind, Lagadien tried to simplify his approach.

“I just kept telling myself, watch the ball.”

From there, the nerves gradually disappeared and Lagadien went on to produce an innings of 106 from just 58 deliveries.

Developing a game for all formats

While an innings like this naturally highlights Lagadien’s ability in T20 cricket, his ambitions extend beyond the shortest format.

Coming through Bishops, he has been exposed to different formats rather than developing exclusively as a T20 player.

“At the schoolboy [level] you get first the declaration in term one. So that’s the longer format and then in between you’ll get like a few T20s just to keep that and then there’s 50 overs in term four.

“So it’s not just shorter formats. It’s quite long games as well.”

Lagadien describes himself as an aggressive batter, but believes different players naturally approach the game in different ways.

“I think it’s just the player. It depends how the player wants to play on the day.

“For me personally I’m quite an aggressive batsman, so that’s what I’ll look for in a game and then you get someone like Jason Rowles or someone else that’s more passive-aggressive, so they can speed up the innings but they can also take their time.”

His goal is to become a player capable of succeeding across formats.

‘I mainly train like I’m going to play four-day’

Perhaps the most interesting part of Lagadien’s development is how he prepares for his cricket.

Despite possessing the attacking game to score a 58-ball century, much of his training is built around the demands of the longer format.

“When I train I mainly train like I’m going to play four-day because our coaches told us all the shots that you play in a four-day is what you would play in a T20.

“So it’s kind of just, it’s the same, but just in the T20 you’re just going to be a bit more aggressive, take it up over the top, and then four-day is just on the ground, taking your time.”

It provides an interesting insight into how one of South Africa’s emerging young batters views the relationship between red-ball and T20 cricket.

The attacking shots may grab the attention, but the foundation is still being built around a game designed to work across formats.

Western Province debut the next goal

After making his mark for the CSA Emerging side against Western Province, Lagadien now has another target in mind.

“I still need to make my debut for Western Province, so that’s probably one of my goals.”

But after an innings that will inevitably attract attention, he isn’t looking too far ahead.

“Just take it slow.

“Take it day by day.”

For a young batter who began the morning shadow batting because of his nerves and was still shaking when he walked to the crease, 106 off 58 balls at Newlands was a significant way to take the next step.

Want to experience South African cricket beyond the headlines?

Every Friday, CFM takes you deeper into the stories, conversations and decisions shaping South African cricket.

Get the CFM Friday Edition free in your inbox.

Sign up using the form below 👇