Bedingham's poor form continues but WP hold slight advantage over Titans

Western Province may have taken a first innings lead in their Four-Day encounter with the Northerns Titans but its insignificance emphasised their sloppy approach with the bat. 

Bowled out for 250 at tea on day two at SuperSport Park, WP’s lead was just 25 runs, giving them no measure of control in a match that holds great importance for them as they seek to hold onto their Division 1 status. 

With a batting line-up featuring three current Proteas Test players, much more was expected of the visitors.

Instead it was left to George Linde (again), who played the last of his three Tests in 2021, to piece together the innings’ only half century, to nudge WP ahead of the Titans. 

The home team knocked off the deficit in the eighth over of their second innings, and even though they’d already lost opener Josh van Heerden for a two-ball duck, the relative ease with which Neil Brand and Keegan Petersen played suggested that with more patience, WP’s batters could have built a lead of real substance.

Instead there were a number of ill-judged shots, the most notable being from Kyle Verreynne and David Bedingham.

They even looked the same — Verreynne’s bottom hand coming off the handle, as he top edged a pull, with the ball looping back to the bowler Matthew Boast, while Bedingham miscued his attempted pull to Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who was fielding in the covers. 

Bedingham’s form has been a concern all summer.

He made just one half-century in 12 Test innings, in the SA20, where he batted in the top three for the most part. His highest score was 48 and in the recently completed One-Day Cup — batting at No. 3 — he made just one fifty.

Bedingham scored only 28 on Friday, but was caught pulling off a no-ball by Dayaan Galiem when he had 20, and had missed that same pull-shot on a couple of other occasions before eventually falling to the shot.

The 30-year-old’s experience in England, where he’s been a prolific scorer for Durham on the county circuit, should make him a shoo-in to start in the World Test Championship final in June.

But even with so much time before then, and with the elegant right-hander likely to get a few knocks under his belt in the UK before the clash with Australia at Lord’s, there must be some head scratching for Proteas Test coach Shukri about a player for whom he holds a great deal of affection. 

To compound what had been a bad day, Bedingham, standing at first slip, then dropped Petersen who had 15 — a relatively simple chance that flew at a comfortable height. 

By that stage the Titans had donated the wicket of their skipper Brand, who ran himself out attempting a second run, but was beaten by Linde’s throw — and had Bedingham held on to the chance Petersen offered in the next over, WP would have been in the ascendancy sooner.

Fortunately Bedingham was bailed out by the bowlers, with Petersen adjudged lbw for 26 off Dane Paterson, and first innings centurion Pretorius superbly caught at gully by Onke Nyaku for only four. 

By stumps the Titans were 108/4, leading by 83 runs.