As you may already know, the third round of the illustrious 2021 LV= County Championship came to an exhilarating conclusion at grounds across England over the weekend, but which South African stars stood out from the crowd in this week’s round of games?
Well in order to answer that question, here are 3 players who I believe really stood up to the plate this week and made their mark for their respective counties in the third round of the 2021 County Championship:
- David Bedingham (Durham)
After scoring a majestic career-best 180* against Nottinghamshire during Durham’s opening game of the season it was obvious that David Bedingham meant business heading into the remainder of the 2021 LV= County Championship. What’s even more remarkable however is the fact that just 2 games later, in this week’s game against Derbyshire at the Riverside, Bedingham’s career-best First-Class score has risen to 257 after the silky-smooth South African number 4 produced one of the very finest individual knocks ever seen in Durham’s 29-year history as a First-Class county. In addition to being his personal best score in First-Class cricket, Bedingham’s extraordinary 257 from 410 deliveries, packed to the very brim with some delightful cover drives, impeccably-timed straight drives and an eclectic mix of both attacking and defensive shots, just so happened to be the highest score by a Durham batsman in a First-Class match against Derbyshire CCC and with a gargantuan total of 310 runs across both innings, Bedingham also secured his place in the hallowed halls of English domestic cricket history by becoming the first Durham player to score 300+ runs in a County Championship match. Whether or not David will be able to improve upon truly this awe-inspiring performance at some point this season remains to be seen of course but I highly recommend that you keep a close eye on his progress with the North-Eastern county heading into the remainder of the 2021 County Championship.
- Ricardo Vasconcelos (Northamptonshire)
To say that Ricardo has made an impressive start to the 2021 LV= County Championship would be a bit of an understatement. After just 6 innings the enterprising Johannesburg-born opener has amassed an outstanding total of 397 runs @99.25 for his side with a healthy strike rate of 69.77. One of these innings, a career-best First-class score of 185* from 221 balls, just so happened to take place in Northampton this week against Glamorgan, where the unstoppable Vasconcelos and hard-hitting all-rounder Rob Keogh (126) unleashed a truly devastating salvo of disdainfully dispatched boundaries to each and every corner of Wantage Road on their way to chasing down a mammoth second innings target of 355 runs with a staggering 7 wickets still to spare. Pleasing on the eye, willing to take on bowlers at any given moment and with an inherent flair that keeps you thoroughly engrossed as a spectator, I highly recommend that you keep a close eye on Ricardo’s performances for the East Midlands side heading into the remainder of the 2021 season.
- Simon Harmer (Essex)
Just as a heads up, this probably won’t be the last time that you see Harmer’s name pop up in this segment this season. After taking a tremendous 10-wicket haul against Durham in Chelmsford last week, Harmer continued his excellent form with a superb 4/89 from 38.1 overs against Warwickshire in their first innings and then followed this up with a phenomenal knock of 82* from 217 deliveries alongside the rest of the tail to salvage Essex’s second innings in fine fashion. Unfortunately for Harmer and the defending champions, these impressive individual performances were unable to stop the resurgent Bear and Ragged Staff from securing a truly magnificent 7 wicket victory at the hallowed turf of Fortress Edgbaston but if the imperious South African can continue this good form heading into the rest of the season, expect to see Essex contending for the trophy once more come September.
