Do South Africans still care about Test cricket?
It may seem a strange question to ask two days before their marquee match of the summer, with Newlands looking a picture (despite provincial administrative problems that have left Western Province financially bereft and beholden to a bailout from Cricket South Africa) and Cape Town in full summer mood. It may seem even stranger after the team's innings win over India last week which was celebrated with great gusto and maintained a 30-year record: India have never won a series in South Africa and no matter what happens this week, they will have to wait until the next FTP cycle to try and change that. But it's one of the only questions doing the rounds after South Africa announced a Test squad with seven uncapped players to face New Zealand next month and the impact of the SA20 on the red-ball game was laid bare. And we have an answer to it, too. At least one South African does: David Bedingham.
"I took my name out of the (SA20) draft, so I can play in New Zealand," Bedingham said at Newlands, ahead of South Africa's first training session of 2024. "Shuks (Shukri Conrad - Test coach) just called and said there is a possibility and as soon as I heard there is a chance, that no-one from SA20 can play, I thought my chances of playing are probably quite high. So I didn't even have a second thought. I told him I will take my name straight off the draft so I can hopefully play."
Bedingham, unlike South Africa's other first-choice players, does not have a CSA central contract which is a crucial point of difference between him and for example, Aiden Markram. All nationally contracted players who have SA20 deals are obliged to play in the tournament ahead of any other fixtures, including internationals because CSA is a majority stakeholder of the SA20. Other players, such as domestic players, could decide whether they wanted to enter the draft or not. Most of them, in the hope of a big payday, did. But Bedingham, a purist who sensed an opportunity, did not.
"I've always loved Test cricket and I have always loved watching Test cricket. I always see it as a bonus if those things (leagues) come up but my priority has always been Test cricket," he said. "If those leagues come calling and I start doing well in those T20 competitions, that's perfect but the main aim is always to do well in Test cricket or first-class cricket."
Bedingham's numbers tell the story of which format he prefers. He has played 87 first-class matches over the last ten years, scored more than 6000 runs and averages 49.56 but has just 55 T20 caps to his name - the last in June 2022 - averages 20.28 with a strike rate of 128.84. He has only played two T20s for Western Province, his current domestic team, the last one in 2021. So while it's clear he is a longer format player, it may not always have been clear that he wanted to play in that format for South Africa.
Bedingham has a UK ancestral visa and has been playing at Durham since 2020, with what appeared to be hopes of qualifying for England. That has since changed. "I had ambitions of playing as a local in England and that's why I am trying to get the passport. If I had to try and play for England, that will still be another three or four years. So the passport is more just to live and work there, rather than actually playing for England," he said.
Instead, he has chosen South Africa at a time when Test cricket is at a crossroads. They will only play two-Test series for the duration of the current World Test Championship and do not face England or Australia. For that, he will have to wait until 2026. More immediately, they will go to New Zealand with what is clearly a second (or third or fourth) string side with Bedingham as its most recently-capped member and he recognises the challenges.
"It will be tough because we are playing against their strongest side and a lot of our best players are missing but I think every single player will take it as a great opportunity and hopefully we can make our country proud," he said.
At least, Bedingham, Keegan Petersen and possibly Zubayr Hamza (who was brought in as an injury replacement for Temba Bavuma and could play at Newlands) will have had recent Test match game time against one of the best attacks in the world. And from what we saw of Bedingham at SuperSport Park, where he scored 56 on debut, he has what it takes to compete. Even though he was "so, so nervous about batting," he showed himself to be an aggressive player with good footwork and strong wrists, all of which seemed lost when he was in a car accident that damaged his jaw, hands and legs in 2016.
Bedingham was a university student when his vehicle crashed into a truck on his way back from a golf day and he needed to be cut out of the wreckage. He needed a year to recover and was unsure whether he would be the same again. He never completed his university degree but returned to cricket and though he believes some of his movements are still limited in the leg that he broke, he has racked up runs at a remarkable rate. He has scored more than 1000 for Durham in two of the last three county championship division two seasons and now has a chance to establish himself as a Test regular.
"From where I was in 2016 to where I am now, - I have the opportunity to play at Newlands in a Test match - it's quite special. Having my parents here, who have been through a lot, putting me through studies and with me not finishing my studies, I owe them a lot. And if I score runs or not, I don't think that matters to them or most of my friends. It's more just about walking out and representing my country."
Cape Town is Bedingham's hometown, he went Wynberg Boys and grew up admiring Herschelle Gibbs. "He [Gibbs] is quite attacking, and Jacques Kallis from my school - or rather I was from his school," he said, laughing. And playing at Newlands, which has always been South Africa's best supported Test venue, is a dream come true and something he intends to savour. "My biggest dreams are playing Test cricket, scoring runs for South Africa and maybe being able to score a hundred at Newlands because a lot of my friends and family will be here."
And they will be among the thousands who do care about Test cricket.
The first two days are close to being sold out and the third is not far behind. This match was so important to CSA that they pumped money into Western Province, who are deep in debt, in order to help them get ready for the fixture (and the SA20). Among the improvements are an awning over the Railway Stand, which was previously exposed to the sun, a few licks of paint, and an interim administrator who is aiming to get the organisation back on track.
In many ways, the malaise of the Western Province as a union could be seen as a metaphor for the fortunes of South Africa's Test schedule but, as the next week will show, where there's a will to make things happen, they do. That's why, some will say, South Africa are 1-0 up in the series and maybe why Bedingham is playing Test cricket and not in the SA20.