South African all-rounder Dean Laing played 62 First-Class matches over ten seasons but only one of those was played in England. In June 1990 he appeared for Nottinghamshire against Oxford University at The Parks, scoring 2 before being bowled by his countryman Willem van der Merwe and bowling five overs without success.
Seven years later, his penultimate First-Class appearance was for Transvaal versus a touring Nottinghamshire side that included three players that had been his team-mates in Oxford – Paul Johnson, Andy Pick and Andy Afford.
Most of Laing’s cricket for Notts was with the Second XI, though he did play in four Warwick Pool Under-25 games, in the Championship and the Second Eleven Trophy. He made 30 appearances for the Seconds, being a regular member of the team in 1988 and 1989.
That one outing at The Parks aside, Laing played his First-Class and List-A cricket in his native South Africa – he was born in Durban, Natal, on 18 September 1970 – primarily for the Transvaal side.
In those First-Class games he made 2,358 runs at 25.91 with a top score of 128; he took 69 wickets at 40-14 with a best return of 3-18. In 110 List-A matches, Laing scored 1,504 at 19.53, top score 85, and took 76 wickets at 35.18, best figures an impressive 4-16 v Griqualand West.
A right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Laing was educated at Bedfordview in Jeppe and played junior representative cricket for South Africa Schools in the 1987-88 season.
June 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 513