Upon the conclusion of a memorable South African domestic Summer, the eyes of the cricketing world now turn to the shores of England and Wales as the fabled LV= County Championship marks its’ triumphant return in 2023.

Starting on the 6th April, this year’s competition promises to be a certified blockbuster across both Divisions so to whet your appetite for yet another captivating Summer of First-Class cricketing action in the UK, here are 10 South African superstars that you should be keeping an extra close eye on heading into the upcoming season:

Leus du Plooy (Derbyshire):
2022 proved to be a fruitful year for Leus in a Derbyshire shirt, as the experienced top-order batter racked up a healthy total of 845 runs at an average of 42.25 for the East Midlands County and didn’t miss a single match over the course of the entire campaign. These impressive performances with the bat in hand haven’t gone unnoticed by Head Coach Mickey Arthur as the former Proteas boss has named du Plooy as the new captain of the red ball side heading into the Summer of 2023, a huge honour for the 28-year-old as he enters just his fifth season with the club. Whether or not Leus can lead the Falcons to the promised land of Division One for the first time since 2013 remains to be seen of course but given the club’s gradual progress in the format under the tenure of the aforementioned Arthur, both du Plooy and his enterprising Derbyshire team will certainly make for some compelling viewing in this year’s County Championship.

David Bedingham (Durham):
When Durham announced the signing of David Bedingham in 2020, a number of leading figures in South African cricket were left feeling disillusioned over the sudden departure of one of the most promising batting talents in the country. They were right to be aggrieved. Over the course of his first full season in County Cricket, Bedingham racked up 1029 runs at 60.52 and finished as the fourth leading run scorer in the 2021 County Championship, catching the eye of both fans and journalists alike who saw the George-born batter as a potential England prospect with a huge ceiling in the First-Class format. Although he didn’t quite have the same impact for the North-Eastern County last season, scoring a comparatively lower tally of 664 runs at 47.42, I fully expect Bedingham to come back a lot stronger in 2023, especially given the return of Alex Lees to the top order which should hopefully see some weight taken off of the shoulders of the accomplished South African and allow him to play his natural game more frequently. Only time will tell of course but if Bedingham can indeed find his previous form for the North-Eastern outfit this season, a Proteas call-up might just be on the cards for the talented 28-year-old in 2023.

Simon Harmer (Essex):
Unless you’ve been living under a rock wedged deep in the hadalpelagic zone of the Mariana Trench for the past 6 years, you’ll be well aware of Simon Harmer’s unbelievable exploits for Essex County Cricket Club ever since he joined the side in 2017. After amassing a frightening tally of 72 wickets at 19.19 in his debut season for the Eagles, it should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that the imperious Pretorian spin wizard has continued to assert his dominance in Division One of the County Championship in truly ruthless fashion, taking a mammoth total of 233 wickets at 19.63 for his side since the Summer of 2019. With Essex keen to lay their hands on English cricket’s ultimate prize for the ninth time in their illustrious history this season, Harmer will once again play a major role as the leader of the bowling attack, especially at the height of Summer when the comparatively drier, more crumbly surfaces of the South-East will play into his hands. If you’re a connoisseur of the divine art of off-spin bowling in all of its’ majesty and splendour, simply tune into one of the Essex live streams this season and thank me later, you certainly won’t regret it.

Colin Ingram (Glamorgan):
For some players, 5 matches may not seem like enough time to make a real impact on their team’s First-Class cricketing fortunes. However, a certain Colin Alexander Ingram is no ordinary cricketer. In the Summer of 2022, ‘Kingram’ appeared in just 9 FC innings for Glamorgan and yet finished the campaign with a sizeable total of 596 runs at an average of 66.22 to his name; not bad going for a batter who many see as more of a threat in the limited overs format. Admittedly, Ingram may not play as large a role in his side’s County Championship campaign in comparison to other players featured on this list, after all, Glamorgan can call upon the services of Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser for large swathes of the season, but when he does get given the opportunity to feature for the Welsh outfit in their blockbuster battle for promotion, it might be a wise idea to tune into the YouTube live streams and watch the King of Cardiff lay down a characteristically regal batting display in all of its’ pure, unrefined glory.

Kyle Abbott (Hampshire):
Kyle Abbott is everything that you want in a county seam bowler. He’s tall, he’s aggressive, he generates extra bounce off of almost any surface and he possesses a lethal in-swinger that’s capable of castling even the most steadfast of opening batters. Last year, Abbott finished as the second leading wicket-taker in Division One behind only Simon Harmer of Essex, taking a sizeable total of 58 wickets at 19.98 over the course of 13 matches for Hampshire, as the Southern County mounted an impressive title charge and ultimately finished in 3rd place, just 1 point shy of runners-up Lancashire. In a star-studded bowling attack featuring the likes of Mohammad Abbas, Keith Barker, Liam Dawson, James Fuller and Ian Holland to name but a few, Abbott will be fancying his chances of repeating his impressive performances from 2022 and cementing his legacy as a legend of the club by leading the Rose and Crown to their first County Championship title since 1973.

George Linde (Kent):
When Kent announced the signing of George Linde last Summer, I have to say that my expectations were rather high, after all, he had been mightily impressive for the Cobras/Western Provinces for a number of years and had even worked his way into the Proteas Test side for the Pakistan series in 2021. Unfortunately for Linde though, the 2022 season proved to be a major disappointment as the 31-year-old Capetonian all-rounder finished his 6 County Championship matches with an expensive 61.08 bowling average and a meagre batting average of 15.57. Given Kent’s struggles with the ball in the early stages of last season, the onus will lie firmly on Linde as the leader of the spin attack to improve his bowling outputs and subsequently provide some discipline and control for the Southern County as the resurgent White Horse look to bounce back strong and lay claim to the prestigious County Championship trophy for the seventh time in their history.

Dane Vilas (Lancashire):
What’s there not to love about Dane Vilas? Since 2019, the Johannesburg-born wicketkeeper-batter has led Lancashire with an air of dignity, class and esteem all whilst backing up his astute leadership with a number of memorable performances with the bat in hand. Although Vilas may not be captaining his beloved Red Rose in 2023, that role has been assigned to former England opener Keaton Jennings for the season, the former Proteas wicketkeeper still has a major role to play as the experienced lynchpin of the Lancashire middle order. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean that we should expect him to rack up 1000+ runs this season, after all, he only managed to accumulate 567 of them at 31.50 last season, but even if he can just steady the ship alongside the likes of Blackpool’s Steven Croft and Manchester’s George Balderson to prevent a few batting collapses here and there, the wily 37-year-old will certainly provide value to one of the strongest and most well-balanced teams on paper in Division One of the County Championship this year.

Wiaan Mulder (Leicestershire):
2022 proved to be an extremely forgettable year for Leicestershire County Cricket Club as the Foxes ultimately finished at the bottom of Division Two with zero wins next to their name. One of the few bright spots from the season however was Wiaan Mulder, as the enterprising Proteas all-rounder smashed 689 runs at an average of 49.21, including two fine centuries against Sussex and Glamorgan respectively, to finish the campaign as the club’s second-leading run scorer behind former Eastern Provinces and Warriors all-rounder Colin Ackermann. Admittedly, Wiaan’s bowling performances could do with some major improvement this season, 14 wickets at 51.14 didn’t exactly make for pretty reading last year, but if he can continue to rack up the runs with the bat in hand at an accelerated rate alongside the likes of Ackermann, Ajinkya Rahane and club captain Lewis Hill, the Foxes of Leicestershire should hopefully be able to turn their red ball fortunes around and enjoy a much more prosperous campaign in the County Championship come the end of the 2023 season.

Pieter Malan (Middlesex):
A former Proteas opener and member of Warwickshire’s 2021 County Championship-winning side, Pieter Malan was originally brought in by Middlesex as a replacement for the outgoing Peter Handscomb, who departed the club mid-way through the 2022 season. Unfortunately for Malan, his red ball performances for the Seaxes left quite a bit to be desired as he was only able to muster an underwhelming tally of 200 runs at 33.33 over the course of 5 Division Two matches, a disappointing return for a cricketer of his experience and class. However, after enjoying a strong List A campaign in the Royal London One Day Cup, Middlesex decided to extend his contract at the club for the entirety of the 2023 season, meaning that the 33-year-old Nelspruit-born batter will gain ample opportunity to find some form in both First-Class and limited overs cricket for the Seaxes this year. With this in mind, as long as the Middlesex management gives him an extended run to establish himself as the premier number three in the side, I back him to enjoy a far more fruitful Summer for the North London outfit over the course of this Summer.

Dane Paterson (Nottinghamshire):
Unsurprisingly, I’m a big fan of Dane Paterson’s cricketing talents. When he first signed for Nottinghamshire in 2021, I expected him to have a decent time of it, after all, he had played Test cricket for the Proteas by this point, but the Capetonian seamer exceeded even those expectations by taking a frightening tally of 54 wickets at 17.98 across 12 matches for the East Midlands outfit. As if a 50+ wicket total in his maiden County Championship campaign wasn’t enough, the ‘Great Dane’ as he’s known affectionately by the Nottinghamshire media team managed to better those figures in 2022 by amassing 56 wickets at 22.35 and ultimately finished the season as the club’s leading First-Class wicket-taker. With the East Midlands County back in Division One and possessing a truly world-class seam attack featuring the likes of Stuart Broad, Olly Stone, Luke Fletcher and Brett Hutton to name but a few, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Paterson was to play yet another major role in his team’s on-field successes over the course of the Summer of 2023.