The two Proteas have enjoyed personal success in the early stages of the English first-class season. GARETH STEVENS reports.
The numbers make for interesting reading when you look at the performances of South African players playing their trade on the County circuit this season. Some of the usual suspects have done their reputations the world of good, while others have struggled.
Kyle Abbott has enjoyed the English conditions and boasts the best bowling average of the group. Among the batsmen, Alviro Petersen has revelled in a move down the order to No 4 and has already accumulated over 500 runs. They will both be eager to carry their rich vein of form into South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka.
Hashim Amla, on the other hand, hasn’t managed to settle in as Graeme Smith’s replacement at Surrey. He has only had a couple knocks, but is yet to get going.
There are also a couple of players who are performing that the local cricket public won’t be familiar with. Tim Groenewald is an all-rounder who was born and schooled in Pietermaritzburg, while Dawid Malan is a batsman who grew up in Paarl and has represented Boland.
Here are all the statistics of the Saffas currently playing First-class cricket in England this season:
Batsmen:
Alviro Petersen: 8 matches. 517 runs. Highest score: 155. Average: 51.70. Strike rate: 57.95
Ashwell Prince: 8 matches. 409 runs. Highest score: 100. Average: 29.21. Strike rate: 48.80
Dawid Malan: 7 matches. 404 runs. Highest score: 92. Average: 36.77. Strike rate: 46.01
Wayne Madsen: 8 matches. 398 runs. Highest score: 111 not out. Average: 39.80. Strike rate: 40.36
Keaton Jennings: 8 matches. 339 runs. Highest score: 80. Average: 30.81. Strike rate: 36.88
Jacques Rudolph: 6 matches. 311 runs. Highest score: 88. Average: 28.27. Strike rate: 49.36
Graeme Smith: 5 matches. 263 runs. Highest score: 103. Average: 32.87. Strike rate: 63.83
Tim Groenewald: 7 matches. 186 runs. Highest score: 56 not out. Average: 26.57. Strike rate: 67.88
Richard Levi: 1 matches. 64 runs. Highest score: 64. Average: 64. Strike rate: 96.96
Hashim Amla: 2 matches. 20 runs. Highest score: 11. Average: 10. Strike rate: 51.28
Bowlers:
Alfonso Thomas: 8 matches. 237.2 overs. 31 wickets. Best bowling: 5-40. Average: 21.22. Strike rate: 45.9
Kyle Abbott: 6 matches. 178.5 overs. 27 wickets. Best bowling: 5-27. Average: 18.81. Strike rate: 39.7
Tim Groenewald: 7 matches. 174 overs. 22 wickets. Best figures: 5-27. Average: 23.31. Strike rate: 47.4
Andrew Hall: 6 matches. 171 overs. 20 wickets. Best figures: 4-103. Average: 28.85. Strike rate: 51.3
