Riki Wessels

Mattheus Hendrik "Riki" Wessels (born 12 November 1985) is an Australian-English cricketer who currently plays for Worcestershire. A right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper, Wessels has played for Marylebone Cricket Club, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire, and also for the Mid West Rhinos in Zimbabwe and the Sydney Sixers in Australia. He is the son of former South African captain Kepler Wessels, who also played 24 Test matches for Australia.[1]

Riki Wessels
Personal information
Full nameMattheus Hendrik Wessels
Born (1985-11-12) 12 November 1985
Nambour, Queensland, Australia
NicknameBlood
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
BattingRight-handed
RoleWicket-keeper batsman
RelationsKepler Wessels (father)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2004–2009Northamptonshire (squad no. 6)
2004MCC
2009–2012Mid West Rhinos
2011–2018Nottinghamshire (squad no. 9)
2014–2015Sydney Sixers
2016Karachi Kings
2016Khulna Titans
2019–presentWorcestershire (squad no. 99)
2019Lahore Qalandars
First-class debut13 July 2004 MCC v West Indians
List A debut3 May 2005 Northamptonshire v Denmark
Career statistics
Competition FC LA T20
Matches 217 179 226
Runs scored 11,499 4,765 5,384
Batting average 35.05 30.94 28.94
100s/50s 23/59 5/26 1/25
Top score 202* 146 110
Balls bowled 240 49 –
Wickets 3 1 –
Bowling average 43.33 48.00 –
5 wickets in innings 0 0 –
10 wickets in match 0 n/a n/a
Best bowling 1/10 1/0 –
Catches/stumpings 336/16 121/0 88/16
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 20 September 2020

Early life

Wessels was born in Queensland, Australia, where his father was playing domestic cricket at the time. After Kepler decided to return to South Africa, Riki grew up in Port Elizabeth. Cricket was not an automatic choice for him, as he was also a keen hockey player, but at 18 he made the decision to pursue a cricket career in England.

Cricket career

In 2004, Wessels joined the staff at Northamptonshire county cricket club where he impressed in the second eleven producing several noticeable scores. This led to him being selected for the MCC in 2004 and in the first team of Nottinghamshire for the start of the 2011 season. In 2004, he established himself as a first class player, and scored his first century at the age of 19 against Somerset.[2] In 2007, he became qualified to play for England which is what he has wanted to do from an early age. Being a keen hockey player (playing for Northampton Lions and the University of Northampton teams)[3] helps him to play a variety of shots including the reverse sweep for which he is well known. He is a fairly attacking player especially in one-day cricket, where he has one century to date. On 7 November 2008, Wessels signed a new contract extension along with fellow Northamptonshire wicket keeper Niall O'Brien, keeping Riki at the club until 2010.[4]

He also turned out for Nondescripts Cricket Club in Sri Lanka during the English off Season between 2008 and 2010.

Wessels signed for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club for the 2011 season, where he plies his trade as a specialist batsman.

He was signed as a specialist batsman by the Sydney Sixers in the 2014/2015 Big Bash League tournament in Australia.[5]

References
  1. Kepler Wessels Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  2. Clive Ellis Wessels son shines The Telegraph. 2005-05-28. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  3. University of Northampton notable players Wikidoc. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  4. Northants tie up wicketkeepers ECB Website. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  5. "Riki Wessels - Sydney Sixers - Big Bash League". Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
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