Riki Wessels

An attacking right-handed wicket-keeper batsman, Riki Wessels is the son of former South African cricketer, Kepler Wessels. 

A dashing player with the ability to find the gaps on a consistent basis, Wessels has been a consistent performer for Northamptonshire ever since his first class debut in 2004.

Born in Queensland, Australia, Wessels returned to South Africa when he was young, and pursued cricket from a very young age. He joined Nottinghamshire in 2004 and played for their second XI initially, before making his senior debut.

Kepler Wessels used to be the coach of Northamptonshire during those days and he promoted his son in the first XI, ahead of the 2005 county season. Wessels did not disappoint and slammed his maiden first class ton against Somerset.

He was a key player for his county side, but ahead of the 2009 season, Wessels was released after the Wales and England cricket Board tightened the Kolpak rules. As a result, the Australian born moved to Zimbabwe in search of game time.

He returned back after two years and joined Nottinghamshire ahead of the 2011 season. He had an average first season with his new country club, averaging just over 20 in 10 matches. However, the following season was better for him, accumulating 905 runs, including three centuries in the season.

Wessels was a better shorter format player and it was pretty evident in a List-A game for Nottinghamshire against Northants in 2016. Alongside Michael Lumb, Wessels added 342 runs in just 39.2 overs, setting a new record and beating the previous best of 318 amassed by India’s Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly against Sri Lanka in 1999.

Ahead of the 2019 county season, Wessels joined Worcestershire.

Wessels has worked hard in the domestic circuit to continue the legacy of his father. Now towards the twilight of his career, Wessels would love to nurture the youngster and create future superstars to represent the Three Lions. 

(As of May 2021)