• Abbott, Prince the top performers

    Published on | Leave a response

    Flatter pitches have resulted in higher batting averages, but Kyle Abbott continues to take wickets in the County Championship. GARETH STEVENS reports.

    Ashwell Prince and Jacques Rudolph have cashed in on friendly wickets over the past week to bump up their averages, while Richard Levi has been drafted into the struggling Northamptonshire side after originally only signing to play limited overs cricket. He has done fairly well, without making a big score, finding himself on top of his team’s batting averages.

    Abbott has continued to thrive in the English conditions. Even though the pitches have improved, the Proteas fast bowler has continued to bend his back and reap handsome rewards. The Test selectors will be delighted with his form ahead of the Sri Lanka series in July.

    Below are the statistics of all the Saffas playing First-class cricket in England. The number next to each player’s name is their position on the respective leading run scorers and wicket takers lists. This gives an indication of how they have fared in comparison to everybody else. If there is no number then they are not currently in the top 50.

    Batsmen:

    Division 1:

    6) Ashwell Prince: 10 matches. 734 runs. Highest score: 257 not out. Average: 45.87. Strike rate: 56.11

    15) Alviro Petersen: 9 matches. 531 runs. Highest score: 155. Average: 44.25. Strike rate: 56.36

    22) Keaton Jennings: 10 matches. 482 runs. Highest score: 103. Average: 32.13. Strike rate: 39.37

    29) Dawid Malan: 8 matches. 436 runs. Highest score: 92. Average: 33.53. Strike rate: 46.23

    Richard Levi: 3 matches. 180 runs. Highest score: 64. Average: 36.00. Strike rate: 63.38

    Hashim Amla: 4 matches. 118 runs. Highest score: 71. Average: 29.50. Strike rate: 71.95

    Division 2:

    8) Jacques Rudolph: 8 matches. 553 runs. Highest score: 139. Average: 42.53. Strike rate: 51.87

    30) Wayne Madsen: 10 matches. 449 runs. Highest score: 111 not out. Average: 32.07. Strike rate: 39.73

    50) Graeme Smith: 5 matches. 363 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

    Bowlers:

    Division 1:

    10) Alfonso Thomas: 8 matches. 237.2 overs. 31 wickets. Best bowling: 5-40. Average: 21.22. Strike rate: 45.9

    21) Andrew Hall: 8 matches. 225 overs. 22 wickets. Best bowling: 4-103. Average: 35.63. Strike rate: 61.3

    Division 2:

    2) Kyle Abbott: 7 matches. 203 overs. 35 wickets. Best bowling: 5-44. Average: 16.42. Strike rate: 34.8

    31) Tim Groenewald: 7 matches. 174 overs. 22 wickets. Best bowling: 5-27. Average: 23.31. Strike rate: 47.4

    Photo: Backpagepix

    Post by

    sachsm