How you can help us

By Khalid Mohidin

Hey, guys! Welcome to another issue of Cricket Fanatics Magazine, the first and only fan-driven Cricket publication in South Africa.

We started this venture on 1 July 2019 with a vision to get fans from all walks of life engaged with the game and give them access to the personalities in South African Cricket.

We want to tell the untold stories of South African cricket and we want fans to be heard.

Since we started, we covered the Mzansi Super League, Women’s Super League, Proteas Men and Women International Test, ODI and T20I series, as well as school and club cricket, with the aim of providing entertaining, engaging and educational content.

But haven't stopped there.

We started a Monthly Magazine where we provide multi-media content, including exclusive features, opinion pieces and analysis.

This works hand-in-hand with our YouTube channel where we produce unique cricket shows that allow fans to call in and have their say.

We have the Daily Show, which reveals all the major talking points in South African cricket, the Sunday Podcast Show where we sit back, relax and engage with the live chat, answering all the questions fans have about us and the game.

We have Off-Side Maidens, the first ever All-Women’s Cricket Show on YouTube, which helps empower women in cricket and gives them a place to share their own views on not only women’s cricket but all cricket.

We have a Legends show, where we interview all legends in cricket.

To produce all of this, we’ve invested a lot of money, time and effort to bring this to you for free.

But to keep this going we need your help.

So we have opened a Patreon account.

In the past, the super-rich supported the work of artists as patrons of the art.

Today, we are fortunate that technology has enabled anyone to become a patron of creative work, even if they are not billionaires.

We have therefore launched a campaign for you as a Cricket Fan to become a patron and support us as an independent, bootstrapped publisher.

As a Patron, you also get your voice heard as a Fan.

Plus: You have the opportunity to become more engaged with the content we produce.

Every month we produce at least:

• 60 Website Articles
• 20 Daily Video Shows
• 4 Weekly Podcasts
• Match Previews
• Match Reviews
• Video Interviews
• And more…

So please join our Patreon today initiative today. Even a tiny amount can make a big difference.

Focus Remains On Test Side

By Avuyile Sawula

The Proteas' top bosses Rob Walter and Shukri Conrad have made it clear that their focus for the upcoming inbound tour against India is to ensure the Test side is well-equipped to clean sweep and dominate.

The duo named their respective squads for the multi-format tour today.

The tour will feature three T20Is, three One-Day Internationals, and two test matches to be played at SuperSport Park, and at the Newlands Cricket ground.

There are noticeable absentees in the T20 and ODI sides, with the duo opting to rest some of their crucial players before the test series begins on Boxing Day.

One-Day International skipper, Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen who all featured for the side in this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World CUP will all sit out the ODI series starting on the 17th and are likely return for the first test match at SuperSport Park.

Meanwhile, the Western Province trio of Mihlali Mpongwana, Nandre Burger, and David Bedingham will be tossed right in the mix, poised to make their international debuts.

Burger, who has been described as a great accusation by Conrad was superb with the ball for Province during the season and is named in all three squads. Meanwhile, Bedingham is set to feature in the Test squad, and Mpongwana has been named in the ODI squad.

Province’s skipper, Kyle Verreynne has also been recalled to the Test squad alongside Warriors wicketkeeper batter, Tristan Stubbs who starred for the SA ‘A’ side during their tour to Sri Lanka this year.

“It wasn’t a long conversation where we agreed that the Test side is the priority,” revealed Conrad.

“All our quick bowlers will be playing in that 4-Day match as well as Temba, coming back nice and refreshed. We are looking forward to a refreshed bowling attack as well as guys having adequate preparation for the test series.”

Conrad has also opted to leave out the likes of Heinrich Klaasen and Ryan Rickelton in his test side. The two are replaced by Stubbs and Verreynne respectively, with Bedingham providing an extra option with the bat.

The 56-year-old said the players selected are best suited for the tough conditions that await the team and believes will be the perfect fit in playing against India’s bowling and batting attack.

“At the end of the day I sit down and consult quite a few people that I trust in the system, and I come up with a squad I believe can beat India at home,” said Conrad.

“I know it’s not the end of the road for Klaasen, next year we go to Bangladesh and the West Indies and I’m almost certain you will see his return.”

“When I look at how we can potentially beat India on the conditions that we going to be encountering - these are the players I believe can perform in those conditions against that Indian attack and give us the best chance of winning.”

“Going forward, the calibre and character of player we are selecting will speak to the type of cricket we want to play, and I think the selection of Stubbs Bedingham, and Verreynne speak to how we want to play our cricket.”

KFC T20I Series

Sunday, 10 December

South Africa vs India – Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium, Durban

Tuesday, 12 December

South Africa vs India – Dafabet St George’s Park, Gqeberha

Thursday, 14 December

South Africa vs India – DP World Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Betway ODI Series

Sunday, 17 December – Betway Pink Day

South Africa vs India – DP World Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Tuesday, 19 December

South Africa vs India – Dafabet St George’s Park, Gqeberha

Thursday, 21 December

South Africa vs India – Boland Park, Paarl

Betway Test Series

26 December – 30 December

South Africa vs India – SuperSport Park, Centurion

03 January – 07 January

South Africa vs India – Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town

Proteas T20I squad:

Aiden Markram (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Ottniel Baartman (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Matthew Breetzke (Dafabet Warriors), Nandre Burger (Western Province), Gerald Coetzee (Momentum Multiply Titans, 1st and 2nd T20Is), Donovan Ferreira (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (DP World Lions), Marco Jansen (Dafabet Warriors, 1st and 2nd T20Is), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans, 1st and 2nd T20Is), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Tristan Stubbs (Dafabet Warriors), and Lizaad Williams (Momentum Multiply Titans).

Proteas ODI squad:

Aiden Markram (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Ottniel Baartman (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Nandre Burger (Western Province), Tony de Zorzi (Western Province), Reeza Hendricks (DP World Lions), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Mihlali Mpongwana (Western Province), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Wiaan Mulder (DP World Lions), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Rassie van der Dussen (DP World Lions), Kyle Verreynne (Western Province) and Lizaad Williams (Momentum Multiply Titans).

Proteas Test squad:

Temba Bavuma (captain, DP World Lions), David Bedingham (Western Province), Nandre Burger (Western Province), Gerald Coetzee (Momentum Multiply Titans), Tony de Zorzi (Western Province), Dean Elgar (Momentum Multiply Titans), Marco Jansen (Dafabet Warriors), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Wiaan Mulder (DP World Lions), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keegan Petersen (Gbets Rocks), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Tristan Stubbs (Dafabet Warriors) and Kyle Verreynne (Western Province).

Business Corner

By Khalid Mohidin

Businesses can now market affordably and effectively to a cricket audience!

We are excited to announce the launch of our Business Corner to help you market your business, products and services affordably and effectively to a cricket audience.

Since we started Cricket Fanatics Magazine in 2019, we've survived a pandemic, lockdowns, no cricket and even the financial woes of Cricket South Africa.

As a small, independent startup, we know how difficult it is to remain competitive under difficult circumstances.

We have to compete with some of the biggest media companies in the world ourselves, despite not having the budget and the resources they have.

However, we found a strategy that works for smaller businesses and that has been proven to work for thousands of businesses all over the world.

When we first discovered this strategy, we didn't believe that it would work.

After all, everybody around us was trying to blast their way to success via social media, just like the big brands did with traditional media like print, radio and television.

But it made so much sense that we decided to test it ourselves.

Today we are a well-respected publication in cricket circles.

And we have the systems to help any business implement the strategy.

We've therefore decided to start a Business Corner to help businesses implement this strategy.

But we know it's not for everybody.

Read more about the strategy and the system on our Business Page to decide whether you are ready to implement a modern online marketing strategy that gets you more long-term happy customers.

Chasing cricket scores ‘needs to be your drug’ – Lance Klusener

By Marc Jacobson

Since the dust has settled following the 2023 Cricket World Cup – that saw Australia come out triumphant for the sixth time – it’d become relatively clear that South Africa had been found wanting when batting second and chasing targets.

Right up until their semi-final defeat to eventual champions Australia, the Proteas were unbeaten when batting first, having won five matches out of five. They won two games batting second – against Pakistan and Afghanistan – but both were by the narrowest of margins. 

What was more striking were the mammoth margins SA won by when setting up a target, which, at the end of the day, had reinforced their net run-rate (NRR) to enable them to place second overall. On the contrary, they lost two games when chasing – which included an upset loss to Netherlands and a drubbing by hosts India. 

This had therefore concluded a clear-cut assessment that the Proteas were rather underwhelming when batting second, which was a peculiar undergoing. 

Ironically, though, Proteas legend Lance Klusener personally always felt it should be easier to chase because you’d know what your expectations and requirements should be. He did however say that conditions also dictate a lot in terms of the outcome of different variables in a cricket game.

And while acknowledging that there may be mounted pressure on any batsman in the middle, batting second in particular allows you to gauge circumstances better.

“I always think there’s less pressure batting second, because you kind of know where you need to go – it’s always a bit of a guessing game batting first,” Klusener told Cricket Fanatics Magazine.

“In the sub-continent, I guess, it might be a bit different. Generally, it gets slower and lower batting second, and I think that’s probably the reason why South Africa battled a bit chasing targets. [It started to] spin a little bit and seam a lot under the lights.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with the mindset; it was that just the conditions on some grounds were just tougher to bat on when batting second.”

Klusener, who played 49 Test matches and 171 ODIs for the Proteas between 1996 and 2004, and who was arguably one of the best all-rounders SA have ever produced, said it was a bit unclear to him as to why the players misfired when chasing, but he again drew some parallels with the conditions.

“I wasn’t in the camp, so it’s hard to say,” he said. “I just think it was a lot easier to bat first in this World Cup generally – not always. I think sometimes we were slightly impatient when chasing a target. When chasing you need to use the whole 50 overs like you do when you set a target.

“You don’t have to chase down your target in 40 overs, and I just felt sometimes our batters went a little too hard too soon, instead of just staying and going the distance.”

Klusener, who has, post-retirement, established himself as a credible coach, also said there is not necessarily more freedom when batting first, simply because you have to feel out the conditions and the overall match temperament first and foremost. 

“Batting first, you have a lot to deal with,” he said, adding that when you chase “all the Maths is already done for you”.

“You know exactly how hard you need to go. It was something I really enjoyed (batting second). The other thing is, you need to have the guts to want to bat and chase a target and be there at the end.

“That needs to be your drive, to have that pressure and embrace that pressure. Chasing needs to be your drug and for me, that’s what it was. Every time we batted second that’s exactly what I woke up wanting to do, and I hoped it got to the last over.

“Do we have enough of those in the team? I’m not sure, but it needs to be a drug of yours. If you look around the world, MS Dhoni thrived in chasing a score, also Michael Bevan back in the day – people who really wanted to be there in the last over and not just get it done and dusted.”

Ironically, as mentioned, the Proteas lost their semi-final against Australia after batting first, an area they were so good at during the World Cup and against a team they’d beaten four times in a row prior. Klusener conceded that to him that performance wasn’t a choke, but it’d just been a “speed wobble at the wrong time”.  

“We’d played some beautiful cricket right up until then. David [Miller] scored a beautiful century and if he’d gotten just a little bit more support we’d have gotten over the line, I’m sure. 

“It wasn’t to be, but it will one day. Sometimes you just need a bit of luck to shine down on you, which hasn’t happened in semi-finals for us in World Cups and ICC events.”

Where do the Proteas go from here?

By Tim Dale Lace

The 2023 World Cup campaign was arguably the Proteas' best, at least since 99. The team played outstanding cricket as a unit rather than relying on individuals. They had a clear idea of how they wanted to go about things and but for a lack of killer instinct in the semi-final, they might have won it.

Of course, they did not win, which meant social media was awash with keyboard warriors in their droves giving their opinions as to why that was; predictably, it was opinions mostly based on emotion rather than fact. The dust has settled now though and emotions are not running as high but the question still remains, what do the Proteas do now in preparation for 2027?

It is easier to say let’s start again from scratch and call time on the ODI careers of several players, who in age will be closer to 40 than 30 when the next World Cup comes around (7 of the current squad in fact) but that would be ignoring the fact that every team that wins the World Cup has sizeable experience in its squad. Sri Lanka had four players over 30 in 1996, Australia five in 1999 & England the same in 2019. Experience wins World Cups.

Move on from Temba
Flirting with controversy, I would suggest a need to move on from Temba Bavuma as captain but not as a player. It is important to say this is not a criticism of him as a batter, as he still averages 45 in ODIs and more a need for a new direction/plan come 2027. He has served us well and should be proud of that.

When the situation needed a proactive approach v Netherlands and in the semi-final after the dismissal of Steve Smith, he allowed things to drift and to win World Cups you need to grab those opportunities. If SA wants to win the fine margins it’s a case of a need of a new approach with someone who is a little more proactive.

I do note that it is being reported that Temba Bavuma will stay as captain, a step in the wrong direction in my opinion.
Team tactics

The team tactic of batting conservatively in the opening powerplay to have wickets in hand to go big at the end of the innings will probably have to go. A lot will happen in the next four years and while this was a tactic that nearly worked, nearly is not good enough.

The teams that go hard at the top will continue to thrive in white ball cricket for the foreseeable future, just ask Warner and Head. Who’s to say Brevis won’t be opening for the Proteas in 2027?
The team that moves with the times is the team that will thrive in an ever-changing game.

Keep enough experience
While going to 2027 with a very similar squad would be a step backwards, it is important the Proteas don’t rip out the floorboards and knock the house down, don’t listen to the many on social media calling for a culling because Rob Walter and co have created something where it is worth keeping the positive structures.

While I don’t think Rassie Van Der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Lizaad Williams and perhaps Tabriaz Shamsi will be there you could easily say David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen and Keshav Maharaj should be.

No Cricket World Cup was won with youngsters alone, so experience is going to be vital and those three delivered in this World Cup. They will be invaluable to the next generation of players coming through. Finding that balance of, out with some of the old and bringing in something new, is going to be crucial.

Protect Gerald
Gerald Coetzee is gold dust and he has been a revelation in this World Cup. He has always had raw pace but the consistency he has shown, with serious wicket-taking ability I don’t think anyone predicted, especially when he came in for the injured Anrich Nortje.

He was joint 4th leading wicket-taker in the tournament and for those who took 7+ wickets, he was only bettered by Mohammed Shami in strike rate.

He no doubt will be sought after by T20 leagues around the world now but let’s build the team around him for 2027; he has all the attributes to be a very special player so Cricket South Africa should make sure he is fresh. He shouldn’t have to play every bilateral for the next 4 years.

The Proteas must not have a repeat of a tired opening bowler as happened with Rabada at the 2019 World Cup.

Sign the performance coach on a permanent basis
It was only a glimmer but what we saw during the game v Pakistan suggests to me that Tom Dawson-Squibb is worth keeping. The Maharaj/Shamsi partnership was a joy to behold.

The Proteas were in a heap of trouble when they came together but they found a way to sneak a crucial win, using that mental toughness that has been lacking in previous Proteas World Cup campaigns. That of course wasn’t the only time but it was the clearest indication that maybe something is working. It was only an 11-run partnership but it did show that this current Proteas team is willing to fight.

Get QDK to come back
I don’t know how this will be done, but the Proteas need to get Quinton De Kock to do a Stokes and come out of ODI retirement about six months before 2027. The team is not short of wicket-keeping options but they are short of genuine quality that can play as explosively as Quinton did in this World Cup.

Allow him to play all around the world, and go wherever he wants to go for the next three years. Let him have as much family time as he wants and don’t burden him with every single T20 series from now until 2027.
Pick him for enough ODIs leading up to the World Cup to see if he still has it. If he does then pick him for 2027 and let him flourish as he did in this World Cup.

Trophies are won with genuine quality and I have no doubt Quinton will still be that in 2027.

Plan for 2027
Finally, start your plans for 2027 now, widen the pool of options by picking fresh talent in the upcoming bilateral, decide on a way of playing and back the players you select. 

Neil Brand Exclusive

By Stuart Judge

Many journalists and former players have indicated that they are worried about the future of Test cricket. Over the past few years, we have seen a significant increase in players prioritizing white-ball cricket or becoming free-agents and prioritizing franchise cricket.

In the summer of 2023, the Proteas Test team will play a home series against India and an away series against New Zealand. Unfortunately, many players are unavailable for the New Zealand away series due to the Betway SA20 taking place in January and February next year.

Prior to the second game between South Africa ‘A” and West Indies “A”, we sat down with captain Neil Brand to discuss his experiences captaining the Titans and the South Africa “A” team as well as his future aspirations.

Brand reflected on his journey to playing representative cricket for his country by stating, “I used to go to school at St. Stithians College. When I was in grade six, I went on a tour to the United Kingdom (Taunton in Somerset).

"My father had lived in the United Kingdom for a few years, and he said that if I performed well I could go to school there. I ended up getting a scholarship to Kings College in Somerset, and I also studied at the University of Cardiff whilst I also played for Glamorgan. I moved back to Tuks, where I was coached by Kruger Van Wyk and selected for Northerns."

When asked about his goals and aims after being selected for the “A” side that played against the West Indies, he said, “As a captain, I want to get the best out of every player by forming personal relationships with them and helping them play to the best of their abilities. I also hope to play test cricket, and this experience could help me achieve this ambition."

Brand lauded how playing with and against cricketers who have experience of playing Test cricket has been really beneficial.

“It has been a huge learning opportunity for everyone. By interacting with these players it has helped me realize that it is possible to play Test cricket.

"I have learned a lot from guys like Tony de Zorzi and Zubayr Hamza. The bowlers such as Duanne Olivier, Hardus Viljoen and Dane Piedt (who recently came out of retirement), all have vast first-class experience and have shared their experiences on numerous occasions."

Brand (who had recently scored a magnificent hundred against West Indies “A”), indicated that young batters could learn to be successful in the longer form of the game.

“Over the past few years, the game has changed a lot due to franchise cricket such as the SA20 or the IPL. In order to be successful in the longer form of the game, batters need to develop defensive and attacking options."

It is evident that Brand is a reflective player and leader. Brand (who has captained both the Titans and South Africa “A”), said that he has the following philosophy around captaincy.

“As a captain, I want to make sure that every player feels valued. I want to get to know them on an individual level and create an environment where everyone can have honest conversations and play for a higher purpose."

When asked about players and captains that he looked up to, Brand said:

“The two players that I looked up to are Albie Morkel and Dean Elgar. Both of them were really welcoming and taught me a lot.

"Albie always seemed to be calm and had the ability to keep his cool whilst Dean always worked hard. The both of them were always the first in and the last out every day which highlighted how hard you need to work as a professional cricketer."

The Reconstruction of David Bedingham

By C.S Chiwanza

When David Bedingham takes to the field, it's not to take part. His intention is to perform at a higher level.

On 11 December 2017, David Bedingham announced himself to the world as a run-scoring machine. He scored a century in his debut match for Boland. It was the beginning of an unprecedented run. He went on to score five centuries for the club.

Bedingham ended the season as Boland’s leading run-getter and fourth overall with half the matches. He had joined Boland mid-way through the season. His performance caught the eye of Ashwell Prince at Western Province. They offered him a contract at the same time as Boland was offering him his first semi-pro contract.

To celebrate his maiden century, Bedingham raised his bat to acknowledge his teammates in the pavilion. He also saluted the smattering of a crowd littered around the ground. He also silently thanked Ryan Bailey and Grant van Velden.

David Bedingham wanted to play cricket again. He didn’t have illusions about how things would go. He knew things had changed. The doctors had done their best to reconstruct the broken parts of him - the accident had left him with a broken femur, arm and jaw - but he was never going to walk, jog or run the same again. He was never going to hold a bat as he did before.

Bedingham had also changed mentally. He didn’t view the world from the same perspective as he did before. Traumatic experiences like the near-fatal accident he was involved in have a way of altering one’s perspective on life.

In December 2016, Bedingham was driving home when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a bakkie in front of him. Five more minutes and he would have made it home safely, but fatigue and the heat got the better of him. “It was really hot on the day of the accident. I think it was like 35 degrees in Stellenbosch,” says Bedingham.

Before the accident, Bedingham had found himself increasingly feeling as if his dream of pursuing a career as a professional cricketer was slowly dying. He was burning the candle at both ends, as his father, John Bedingham, put it. His life lacked balance and it affected his performance on the field. Suddenly the young man who had arrived at Stellenbosch University with a big reputation thanks to a sensational century against England Under-19 couldn’t hit the ball off the square.

In matches, Bedingham showed sparks of class, and hints of otherworldly ability before falling for sub-20 scores. It didn’t help that the more he failed on the field, the harder he was on himself.

“He wasn’t in the right mindset to apply himself,” says Grant van Velden, the head of High Performance at Maties Cricket. But, after the accident, Bedingham was a different person. He seemed more focused and re-energised. “It was as if the accident woke up something in him. Something that made him realise that you don’t want to waste your talents.”

“David’s turning point, psychologically, was his car accident. He came back a more mature man that had a purpose in life,” agrees Ryan Bailey.

Bedingham’s recovery took a long time. It was months before he could stand on his own and even longer for him to walk. One of the first things Bedingham did when he could move around was get in touch with van Velden and Ryan Bailey. He needed help rebuilding his game.

Using the information they had on Bedingham on record, the van Velden and the Maties team drafted a program for Bedingham. The program was divided into four sections: return to train in the gym, return to train in the field, return to play, and return to perform. The idea was to get him as close to his former strength as possible.

Three times a week, Bedingham was at the Stellenbosch University gym by 5:45 am. Bedingham worked with Grant van Velden, the Maties’ head of high-performance, to strengthen his leg from 6 am. “At first it was basic movements on the leg press, leg extension. I carried very low weights just to try and slowly get all the range back,” says Bedingham.

Van Velden spent the first 10 to 12 weeks of Bedingham’s return to the gym working with him on building Bedingham’s lower body strength. “The femur is the strongest bone in the body and when it’s broken, a lot of work goes into rehabilitating it. But, we did not just focus on the injured femur, we had to do work on the hamstrings, adapters, calves and glutes,” says van Velden.

Bedingham had lessons at 8 am. After his lessons, he hobbled to the nets where he met with Ryan Bailey. Bailey threw balls for Bedingham until one of two things happened: either Bailey had to go and work with other players or Bedingham got tired. Bedingham never got tired. He wanted to hit balls all day. “Ryan Bailey threw thousands of balls for me when he really didn’t have to,” says Bedingham.

Bailey saw it differently. He saw how badly Bedingham yearned to be back on the field and how hard he was working on his fitness. The net sessions were a reward to Bedingham for all the work he did in the gym. And there was also a practical aspect to it, “It was also a transitional period to build his capacity, just making sure he was strong enough to hit balls. So it was just hitting balls with no technical or tactical stuff,” says Bailey.

Simply hitting balls, day in and day out, can devolve into groundhog day. It is easy for players to get bored. Bailey understood Bedingham. They had been working together for a while. They first met at a club training session. Bailey had been drawn to Bedingham because of his clean ball striking. They developed a relationship on the spot. He knew that the monotony would bore Bedingham to death.

“I had to challenge him mentally during practice. Set out scenarios to encourage critical thinking. I would set goals and incentivise reaching milestones,” says Bailey.

As part of the return to training in the field, which came about four months after training in the gym, van Velden introduced jogging to Bedingham’s training. After a couple of weeks, Bedingham was sprinting in a straight line. As he grew stronger, Bedingham had to change direction while sprinting. It was also around this time that Bailey moved from the basics of batting to the more technical aspects.

From day one of gym training, Bedingham had his eye on playing for Boland during the 2017/18 season when he approached van Velden and Bailey. Bedingham spoke about it constantly and pushed hard to get match-fit by October. In September, Bedingham was training in the field and investing a lot of energy into convincing Bailey that he was ready to play.

Each time Bedingham said he was ready, Bailey ran fitness tests and put his injured leg under stress to see how it would hold up. The next day, Bailey would test to see if Bedingham’s leg was still holding up and if he could move pain-free, free of discomfort. Bedingham did his best to hide the pain and discomfort, but Bailey saw through it. Bailey turned down Bedingham’s request for clearance each time. He wasn’t ready yet.

“He wasn’t moving as freely as he should have been. I would give the report to the physios and biokeniticists and they agreed he was not ready,” says Bailey.

Being turned down was frustrating to Bedingham. It tested his relationships with Bailey and van Velden, tested his patience and tested his will and commitment to the program. When the going got tough while working on strengthening his leg, van Velden always reminded Bedingham that ‘the comeback is always greater than the setback.’ The mantra helped Bedingham find strength when he felt overwhelmed, frustrated or tired.

“Looking back, Bailey delaying my return was the best thing for me as I was hungrier than ever when I eventually got playing again and going back too early might have meant another injury,” says Bedingham.

After pushing for months, Bedingham was finally cleared in the first week of December 2017, and on the 11th, 360 days after his accident, more than a year after his last match, he played his first match.

Bedingham marked his return to cricket with a century. “It was on a very bumpy field which made running and fielding pretty risky because my leg was still not completely perfect,” says Bedingham. Despite the state of the field, Bedingham didn’t hold back. He was determined to show everyone that he wasn’t back to take part, he was back to perform at a higher level.