County C'ship: Durham sign Keegan Petersen for first half of season

Durham [UK], February 17 (ANI): Durham Cricket on Thursday announced that they have signed South Africa batter Keegan Petersen for the first half of the County Championship season.
Keegan will be likely seen in the home series against Bangladesh, with two Tests scheduled for early April. He will then up with Durham ahead of their trip to Leicestershire in the second round of Championship games, with his final appearance set to be against Worcestershire in mid-June.
"We're very pleased to have secured the quality of Keegan Petersen for the first block of county cricket in 2022. Keegan will add further strength to the top our batting line-up and joins the club on the back of a successful period with South Africa," said Durham's director of cricket, Marcus North, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
"He is in a great place with his cricket having, last year, broke into the South African Test side; we look forward to welcoming Keegan to Durham in April," he added.
The 28-year old batter, played his first game against West Indies in 2021 and became a key player South Africa's recent Test win over India, making scores of 62, 72, and 82 in four innings as they came from behind to take the series 2-1.
Petersen has scored more than 6000 runs in first-class cricket, at an average of 40.93. He will link up at Durham with compatriot David Bedingham, who was the county's leading run-scorer in 2021 with 1029 at 60.52.
"It's exciting to join a county like Durham and I look forward to linking up with the squad and having a successful contribution during my time in the northeast," Petersen said. (ANI)