Stuart van der Merwe is delighted to mark his Northants debut with 59 in the One-Day Cup after finally earning a county contract.
Northamptonshire batter Stuart van der Merwe saw persistence pay off as he marked his One-Day Cup debut with 59 off 60 balls against Sussex.
The 20-year-old South African was given a contract by the Steelbacks after also having trials with a number of other clubs, including Surrey and Leicestershire.
He was dropped off the first ball he faced but went on to hit a six and six fours in their 295-8 at Wantage Road, although Sussex won the game by seven wickets.
"It was a day that I've always been looking forward to and I'm really chuffed to just make my debut," Van der Merwe told BBC Radio Northampton.
"It's definitely something I've been dreaming about my whole life. And, yeah, it's not the easiest thing trialling around. You need a bit of luck, right time, right place definitely."
Van der Merwe - who also bowled six overs for figures of 0-34 - arrived in the UK in 2021 to attend boarding school before progressing to Leeds University, where he is still a student.
He hit two centuries in second XI games for Surrey but it was an innings of 95 against them for Northants at Dunstable in May that helped him finally earn a one-month county deal.
"It was great to have Broady [Justin Broad] present my cap. I know him from back home, obviously a South African mate. He's definitely someone that I look up to a lot, especially the way he's gone about it [getting into county cricket], not the easiest way, but yeah, he's got to where he wants to be," he said.
"This was the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of. It was definitely very special to play in front of a crowd like that, especially when they're behind you too. You can't ask for more."
The defeat left Northants eighth in Group B with three games to play, the next at home to Kent Spitfires on Thursday.
Category: General Sports
