County Championship 2022 | Keegan Petersen ends association with Durham

Durham Cricket has ended their association with South Africa's Keegan Petersen. The partnership saw the right-hander play six games for Durham in County Championship Division Two.

Petersen did not explicitly explain why he returned to South Africa but cited personal reasons. He was scheduled to play seven games before joining South Africa's Test squad for their series against England in August. Instead, he will miss Durham's next match against Worcestershire, which was his final game for them.

Petersen has scored 287 runs at an average of 31.88 for Durham, including two fifties. He will miss Durham's next game against Worcestershire, which was supposed to be the final game before coming back for the second round of fixtures later in the year.

Speaking about this development, Marcus North, Director of Cricket for Durham, said, "Our thoughts are with Keegan and his family, and we fully support his decision to return to South Africa. We wish him all the best for the future and thank KP for his contributions in a Durham shirt this season."

The 28-year-old was a thorn in the flesh for India during their tour of South Africa earlier this year. He was the highest run-scorer in the series with 276 runs from 3 Tests at an impressive average of 55.31.

Since making his debut in 2021, Petersen has featured in 7 Tests scoring 453 runs, including four half-centuries.

The gritty batsman missed South Africa's Test series against New Zealand due to Covid and signed with Durham to get some much-needed game time for the first half of the 2022 season.