It’s not often that I start an article with a reference to a Christmas song but on this occasion, I thought that it would be rather apt; akin to the words of the 1963 hit by Andy Williams, it really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Admittedly, that’s not because there’s better weather on the way, this is Great Britain that we’re speaking about after all, we’re not exactly renowned for sunny weather in April, but what we do have is the return of our beloved County Championship to look forward to and I, for one, cannot wait.

As you can imagine, it’s been a pretty long off-season for us as English cricket fans.

Watching the SA20 and CSA 4-Day Series on a cold, icy Winter’s day satiates the cravings to an extent but nothing beats being in the ground and hearing the crisp, captivating crack of Duke’s leather on willow during a County Championship match; it might actually be the best feeling in the world.

Starting on Friday 5^th April, one day earlier than the 2023 iteration, this year’s Championship promises to be an absolutely blockbuster affair, as 18 teams across 2 fascinating divisions desperately vie to carve out their legacy in the hallowed halls of English domestic cricket history.

With this in mind, I decided to take a closer look at some of the major South African talent that will be appearing in the County Championship this season, because trust me, there’s an embarrassment of riches to choose from at the moment in that particular department.  

From Durham’s David Bedingham to Nottinghamshire’s Dane Paterson, here’s my take on the current and former Proteas players who you should be keeping an extra close eye out on as we inch ever nearer to start of this truly mouth-watering red ball competition…

David Bedingham (Durham)

We’re kicking off the list in style by taking a close look at one of Mzansi’s classiest operators with the bat in hand; George’s very own David Bedingham.

Following a magnificent season for Durham, which saw the 29-year-old rack up 1019 runs at 56.51 and the North-Eastern County secure their return to the First Division for the first time since 2016, the prolific right-hander was finally given the opportunity to represent the Proteas on the international stage, and boy did he take it with both hands, manufacturing a brilliant 56 against India on Test debut at SuperSport Park.

To say that he thoroughly deserved that chance would be an understatement; quite simply, he’s one of the finest domestic batting options in the global cricketing landscape.  

Aside from raw numbers though, the aspect of Bedingham’s game that I admire the most is his versatility. Whether he’s capitalising on a fast start from his team or bailing out the top order after a quick flurry of wickets, you always feel as though the 29-year-old has the ability to shape the narrative on an innings almost single-handedly whenever he’s at the crease, an incredibly powerful tool for any captain to have at their disposal.

He’s also a very aesthetically pleasing operator, combining crunching cover drives with electrifying pull shots to pick apart opposition bowling attacks with an eclectic amalgamation of precision and power. You might already be able to tell by this point in the piece, but I’m a rather big fan of Mr Bedingham’s game, especially in the First-Class format.

Turning our attention to the 2024 County Championship though, I fully expect David to utilise that prolific run-scoring ability to his advantage yet again and have another strong season in a Durham shirt. Should he replicate his commanding performances from the past couple of years in this upcoming campaign, the North-Eastern outfit might just have an increased chance of laying their hands on their first Division One title since 2013 as well.

Dean Elgar (Essex)

Perhaps the most significant South African signing over the off-season, Dean Elgar joins a title-chasing Essex side desperately searching for some reliability at the top of the order following the retirement of the legendary Sir Alastair Cook.

Whilst the granite-like opener’s presence will be sorely missed by the Proteas, his resolute batting style should provide a perfect foil for Essex’s dynamic middle order engine room of Tom Westley, Jordan Cox, Adam Rossington and Matt Critchley to build off of during an innings, a role that the aforementioned Cook played to perfection over the course of his glittering 20-year playing career.

And it isn’t just Elgar’s resilient batting approach that will benefit the Eagles this season either; the 36-year-old brings an immense wealth of First-Class experience to the table with 245 career appearances and 16,676 runs at 41.79 next to his name.

He’s also very familiar with the workings of county cricket, having previously turned out for Surrey and Somerset in years gone by, an asset which will no doubt serve as an additional feather in an already mightily impressive cap for the veteran top order batter.

Although I’m not looking forward to watching him against my beloved Warwickshire in May, I am incredibly intrigued by the prospect of watching Dean in an Essex shirt this season. He may not be the prettiest or the most free-flowing of operators at the crease, but one thing is for certain, you can always depend on him to put in the hard yards and graft against the new ball for the benefit of his team, an attribute of his game which I’ve always respected him greatly for.

Granted, only time will tell as to whether or not Essex can finally pip Surrey to the Division One title for the first time since 2019 but with the marquee signing of Elgar, they’ve certainly sent out a statement to the rest of the circuit that they’re going all in for the coveted County Championship crown this season.

Simon Harmer (Essex)

The second Essex cricketer to feature in this article, Simon Harmer needs absolutely no introduction when it comes to County Cricket.

Since joining the Southern outfit in 2017, a year which saw the club lift their first Championship title since 1992, Harmer has become a bona fide icon of the circuit, so much so that the mere mention of his name is enough to generate chills down the spines of batting line-ups across the length of the country.

Akin to the Sword of Damocles, the mystical spectre of Harmer’s off-spin looms large over any opposition courageous enough to take him on in the First-Class arena, and although many have tried their utmost to best him over the years, the wily South African’s sizeable tally of 400+ FC wickets in an Essex shirt provides all of the testament needed to determine the usual outcome of these battles.

Think of it this way, if you were to play Magnus Carlsen in a game of chess you might get lucky and take a pawn or two, you might even procure a knight or a bishop on a good day, but sooner or later, somewhat inevitably, you’re going to be forced into checkmate.

Similarly, when facing someone of the sheer calibre of Simon Harmer, you might win the odd battle or two, you might even survive for a few overs or so, but you very rarely, if ever, end up winning the war.

Now this should come as absolutely no surprise judging by the tone of the previous passage, but I wholeheartedly expect 2024 to be yet another fruitful year for the 35-year-old in the County Championship.

As the focal point of the Essex bowling attack, the Southern County will be relying on Harmer’s arsenal of off-spinners, arm balls and top spinners to catapult them to success in the red-ball format once more. If the likes of Sam Cook, Jamie Porter, Paul Walter and Matt Critchley can stay fit alongside him for the entirety of the campaign, they’ll most definitely fancy their chances of repeating the past glories of 2017 and 2019 later this season.

Wiaan Mulder (Leicestershire)

Unlike some of the names previously mentioned in this article, the 2023 County Championship surprisingly proved to be a somewhat mixed campaign for Wiaan Mulder.

Whilst the talented all-rounder took 26 wickets at 17.96 over the course of 10 matches for the Foxes, a figure which saw him finish with the best bowling average of any bowler to have appeared in 10+ matches for the club last season, his batting outputs took a significant hit compared to those of previous campaigns, ultimately resulting in him finishing with an underwhelming tally of 343 runs at 24.50 to his name.  

Thankfully for those of a Leicestershire persuasion though, Mulder appears to have re-found his characteristic mojo with the bat over the duration of the South African domestic season, with the 26-year-old racking up a hefty total of 549 runs at 54.90 for the title-winning Gauteng Lions in Division One of the 2023/24 CSA 4-Day Series.

In addition to this, he also took a fine tally of 16 scalps at 26.50 with the ball in hand, perhaps a promising sign of things to come when he returns to the East Midlands outfit in the early stages of the season in a few weeks’ time.

Given his undeniable importance to the Foxes in all departments, Mulder will be an absolutely pivotal piece in Leicestershire’s promotion jigsaw throughout the course of this upcoming season.

With his ability to break crucial partnerships, score runs at an accelerated rate and provide additional stability in the middle order, he’s arguably one of the most important figures at the club right now. Only time will tell of course, but if he can indeed fire with both the bat and the ball in hand for the entirety of the red-ball campaign, 2024 might just prove to be the year that the East Midlands County finally end their prolonged 21-year stint in the Second Division.

Dane Paterson (Nottinghamshire)

One of the most consistent seamers on the county circuit in recent seasons, my final pick for today’s article is Cape Town’s very own Dane Paterson.

The charismatic 34-year-old had yet another mightily impressive campaign in a Notts shirt last season, with the skilful seam bowler taking 50 wickets at 27.80 for the East Midlands outfit over the course of 13 matches.

That bountiful haul represented the 3^rd consecutive season that the aptly nicknamed ‘Great Dane’ had reached the 50+ wickets mark in the First-Class arena for Nottinghamshire, an immense achievement for a bowler who had never featured in a County Championship match prior to his arrival at Trent Bridge in 2021.

Now if that doesn’t demonstrate just how useful of a signing he’s been, then nothing else will.

The truly great aspect of Dane’s game isn’t his remarkable statistical output though, the real majesty of his game lies in the immense degree of control that he displays with the Duke’s ball in hand, combining an eclectic mix of sharp in-swingers and potent out-swingers to carve through opposition batting line-ups with clinical ease.

To put it simply, he’s an incredibly canny operator with the new ball in hand.

Part of this additional success with the new ball stems from the hard work that he’s put in with Notts’ bowling coach Kevin Shine over recent years, a player-coach partnership which has clearly produced dividends for the East Midlands outfit, but it also lies in the increased confidence that he possesses as a trusted spearhead in a formidable seam battery consisting of the likes of Brett Hutton, Olly Stone, Lyndon James and Luke Fletcher.

Factor in the recent arrivals of Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington from Midland rivals Worcestershire and it’s safe to say that the seam options to complement Dane in 2024 really are extensive.

Admittedly, given the sheer strength of Surrey and Essex, Nottinghamshire might not be in the mix for the Division One title come the latter stages of the campaign, but one thing is for sure, with Paterson in search of a 4^th consecutive 50+ wicket season to take him to the milestone of 200 County Championship scalps, witnessing the captivating Capetonian charging into bowl with a real sense of intent, impetus and purpose will be nothing short of blockbuster.

I, for one, certainly can’t wait to see how he gets on again this year.