Bedingham cannot wait to get going
DURHAM batsman David Bedingham is excited at the opportunity the 2021 season will bring as he prepares for his first full year with the club.
Bedingham, who scored 253 runs in a shortened Bob Willis Trophy season with a highest score of 96, was delighted he had the opportunity to play cricket last summer despite the pandemic affecting sport throughout the world.
The 26-year-old South African said: “I feel like the 2020 season was a great learning experience.
“I did not do as well as I wanted to but I am really looking forward to playing a full season and hoping to improve in all three formats for Durham.”
Having joined the club in February last year, Bedingham managed a three-day pre-season tour to Zimbabwe before the first lockdown.
This winter, the Durham squad has been able to prepare fully for the coming season, albeit in small groups.
Bedingham added: “It has been my first full pre-season in several years and I feel it has been tough but really good.
“This pre-season has given me the chance to work on the basics.
“The conditioning and gym work has been really challenging but I am sure all the guys are stronger and fitter for it.”
Pitches with lots of grass on and overhead conditions often favour the bowlers in April but the right-hander is up for the challenge.
He said: “I have heard the conditions are much different in April compared to the middle of summer but I feel like we have all been exposed to challenging conditions in our lives.
“This is just another challenge which hopefully I can overcome and I am really keen to test the skills we have worked so hard on in pre-season out in the middle.”