Bedingham still learning tricks of the trade in T20 cricket as he hopes to become more consistent in the shortest format.
Bedingham, intentionally or not, became the traditionalists’ hero last summer when he revealed he decided not to put his name in the SA20 draft.
All of South Africa’s top players were contractually required to stay behind for a T20 event that was still becoming established, and the SA20 was coming to an end as those Tests were beginning. An under-strength Test team lost, as was to be predicted, but Bedingham solidified his status as a red-ball specialist with a daring century in the second innings.
After a few months, when schedule conflicts had been resolved and his place in the Test team was largely assured, Bedingham did declare for the draft. The Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the reigning champions, selected him for one of the most difficult trials of his career.
“I’m still trying to learn my trade in T20. I don’t think I’ve found the sweet spot yet. Hopefully, the more I play, the better I’ll get and the more consistent I’ll get.”
Maybe his responsibilities will be clarified. Bedingham began the season batting at number seven for the Sunrisers and was moved to opener in their third game. It took another game before he began to show signs of his abilities, scoring 39 off of 20 balls against the Super Giants of Durban. Since then, he has also scored twice in the 40s, indicating that he feels most at ease at the top. In fact, Bedingham has batted in the top three in 53 of his 80 T20 matches.
He has played for Durham in nearly half of his games (38), averaging 21.47 and having a strike rate of 141.19. His challenges between wanting to make an impact and looking for consistency in the shortest format are likely best explained by those stats.
“For me, it’s just trying to find the balance of attack and defence,” he said. “In this tournament, I’ve probably found it harder to attack, so that’s why I’ve probably leaned more to [have] a defensive mindset and then in previous tournaments, let’s say in the Blast or the CSA T20, I’ve probably attacked too much.”
“I’ve found it quite tough. But I also feel that the bowlers that we played against have been quite good as well, so it’s probably a combination of both,” he said. “But speaking to the guys that played the first two seasons, they’ve definitely said that the wickets have played a bit tougher. I’ve spoken to Russ(ell Domingo, Sunrisers’ batting coach) and he said that in India, and England, those types of countries are probably a lot easier to bat in the first six overs, whereas in South Africa, you probably have to be a bit more circumspect.
“So especially in this tournament where the wickets have played quite tough, I think those first six overs have been crucial. And I think a lot of the teams, including us, have probably struggled in those first six overs.”