Riki signs up for county’s 2022 white-ball campaign
STAFFORDSHIRE County Cricket Club have confirmed the signing of Riki Wessels for the 2022 season.
The 36-year-old, above, has agreed to play for the county in white-ball cricket, which covers their National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Trophy and Twenty20 Cup campaigns.
Wessels, who previously played for Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire, left Worcestershire midway through last season and linked up with NSSCL Premier Division side Longton. They had seen overseas batsman Saad Ali return to Pakistan and were looking to bolster their batting line-up.
Wessels has played 224 firstclass matches, hitting 23 tons, as well as featuring in 179 List A matches and 237 Twenty20 encounters in his pro career.
He announced his arrival at Longton with a stunning 126 on his debut against Bagnall Norton on August 7 - and followed that up the next week with 101 against Stone SP.
Wessels rounded off the campaign with an unbeaten 100 in Longton’s victory over Moddershall & Oulton.
That ensured Longton finished six points behind champions Meakins - the second year in a row they had been pipped to the title.
In total, he played 13 times for Longton in league and cup cricket, scoring 568 runs at an average of 63.11. Longton did, however, lift some silverware after winning the Twenty20 Cup.
In the Premier Division, he averaged 97, with 388 runs in six innings. He has also agreed a deal to play for Longton once again in 2022.
The son of former South Africa captain Kepler Wessels, he has extensive experience of T20 franchise cricket around the world having featured in Australia’s Big Bash, as well as the Pakistan and Afghanistan Premier Leagues.
Staffordshire chairman Phil Oliver said: “We are delighted to have signed Riki for the NCCA season.
“He has a hugely impressive track record and we’re looking forward to seeing him in county colours this summer.
“We are always striving to improve in all formats of the game and we believe that Riki’s signing will help us to push for honours in the whiteball game.”
Staffordshire open their 2022 season with a double header against Northumberland in the Twenty20 Cup at Porthill Park on Sunday, April 17. Staffs have generally struggled in T20 cricket since it was introduced at this level.
However, they have impressed in 50-over cricket - last year aside when they failed to progress from their group - having reached the final in 2016, where they lost to Herefordshire, as well as making the last four in 2019.
And the signing of Wessels will increase optimism that Staffordshire can be challenging for white-ball trophies.
They will also have their eye on Championship success, when that format kicks off later in the summer.