Kepler Wessels
Encyclopedia
Kepler Christoffel Wessels (born 14 September 1957) is a former South African cricket
er who captained South Africa after playing 24 Tests
for Australia
. He was the first man to have played One Day International cricket for two countries.
He was a left-handed opening batsman. He played first-class cricket
for Orange Free State
, Western Province, Northern Transvaal
, Eastern Province
and Griqualand West
in South Africa, for Queensland in Australia and Sussex
in England. As of the 2008 season, he was the coach for the Indian Premier League
franchise Chennai Super Kings
.
From a very early age, Wessels showed exceptional sporting talent. By the age of 12, he was playing rugby union
for the Free State
primary schools team and he was one of the leading schoolboy swimmers in the province. However, after a close encounter with death, due to nephritis
, Kepler's father decided that his son would no longer be allowed to participate in swimming.
Wessels decided to switch to cricket, even though the rules of Grey College didn't allow him to play at such a young age. With the help of Johan Volsteedt (who was the first team captain), Wessels was allowed to participate in the net practices and soon cricket became his main activity during summer. During winter, he played tennis, at which he won so frequently that, by 1973, he was the number 1 under-16 player in South Africa and was offered a scholarship of $25 000 over four years from the University of Houston
. However, due to the fact that he played as an under-16 against adults, Wessels began to lose regularly in senior tournaments. After a dramatic loss during the Griqualand West Open in Kimberley
- after which he cut all the strings from his racket in the changing room - Wessels turned down the offer from Houston and decided to focus all his attention on cricket.
As a young cricket player, Wessels scored his first century at the age of nine and was taken into the Free State under-13 side during the same year, getting scores of 80, 80, 88 and 121 against players four years his senior. By the end of 1969, his batting average for Grey College (after nine innings) was 259.59. He was selected to represent the Free State schools side at the prestigious Nuffield Week for five consecutive seasons; and was selected three times for the South African schools side, the third season as captain.
Wessels finished his high school cricket career with an innings of 130 not out, during a home game for Grey College, against rival Queen's College from the Eastern Cape
. His superb innings laid the foundation for Grey's first victory over Queen's in 18 years.
to play for the Australian World Series Cricket Team
. As a South African with little hope of playing Test cricket for his country, Wessels joined the "circus" to take advantage of the better pay and conditions that the WSC offered.
He arrived in Sydney at the age of 21 and was put on trial at the local Waverley club, for Packer to see first if Wessels was decent material for World Series Cricket. After scoring 123 against Penrith, newspapers started speculating about a place for Wessels in the New South Wales
state side. The media was unaware that Wessels had already signed for Packer. An innings of 137 followed against the Sydney club side and the selectors immediately named him in the state training squad. That was the signal Packer needed and he quickly called a press conference to announce that Wessels would be playing World Series Cricket instead.
Packer saw in Wessels a reliable opening batsman - something that the Australian WSC side was in serious need of. To help him find his feet in the new environment, Wessels played a couple of games for the second-string Cavaliers side. During his first game, two short balls had struck him in the ribs and on the chest, and in both cases, he refused to leave the field and battled on to score a 54 from the innings.
Finally, Wessels was included in the Australian XI, for a one-day game against a World XI, which included four fellow South Africans. He scored 20, made 21 in the next game and then got 92 against the Cavaliers side. A Supertest against a 'Rest of the World' side followed in Melbourne, but Wessels scored only eight in the first innings. In the second innings, he managed to get to 46. He regained some respect, however, during the next Supertest against a West Indies XI, by scoring 126 in his first innings. During the Supertest final between Australia and the Rest of the World, Wessels scored 27 in his first innings, but experienced a miserable second one. Australia lost by five wickets.
The one-day series involved a best-of-five final between Australia and the West Indies and Wessels scored an unbeaten 136 during the first match which was the only century in the WSC International Cup , during one of the finest one-day innings of his career. He scored 40 and 70 from the next two games respectively, after which the West Indies led the series 2-1. They won the series during the fourth match, thanks to a better run-rate, when Australia couldn't finish bowling their 50 overs by the scheduled end of the match at 10:30 p.m.
A third leg to the World Series was due to be played in the West Indies, but Wessels was forced to stay behind, because he still held a South African passport and would not be granted visas for the Caribbean. It was the end of his World Series Cricket experience, as Packer reached a settlement with the Australian Cricket Board in 1979. The World Series was disbanded after that.
, and made his debut against England
at The Gabba
in Brisbane on 26 November 1982. He became the first South-African born person to play for Australia, and the 13th Australian player to score a century on debut. Wessels dominated the English bowling, with scores of 162 in the first innings and 46 in the second. He was instrumental in Australia's victory by seven wickets and was given the "Man of the Match" award. He eventually played four Tests in his debut series and scored 386 runs at an average of 48.25.
. Wessels continued his good form with 141, thus becoming the first Australian player to score a century against Sri Lanka. He was named "man of the match" in Australia's innings victory.
, scoring 256 runs at an average of 42.66. This included 179 in the third Test, which remained his top score. Despite this moderately good form, Wessels was outscored by five other Australian players who took advantage of the poor quality Pakistan bowling.
Greg Chappell
, Dennis Lillee
and Rod Marsh
all retired from Australian cricket at the end of the series, and much was expected of Wessels (and others) to score consistently in the upcoming series against the West Indies
.
three times, and was nicknamed "Joel's bunny" as a result. For the first time in his Test career, Wessels' form had deserted him and he was not a certainty for selection when the West Indians toured Australia in 1984/85.
The fourth Test saw Wessels continue his heavy scoring, with 90 and 0 helping Australia force a draw. It was in the fifth Test, however, which saw him totally dominate the West Indian bowlers with 173. His batting helped Australia to 9 (declared) for 471, which was a winning total on a wicket that was taking spin.
Wessels scored 505 runs at an average of 56.11 against the West Indies, which was more than double the amount of runs scored by any other Australian batsmen during that series. Given the dominance of West Indian bowling at the time, and the fragility of the Australian batting line-up, Wessels' performance during that series was world class.
aside, the batting lineup become increasingly fragile.
It is likely that the impending rebel tour to South Africa
affected Wessels' concentration during the 1985 Ashes tour. Because of his South African background, Wessels was seen by many players and officials as one of the major contacts for the Rebel Tour amongst the Australian players. Wessels has steadfastly denied this accusation.
, scoring 70 out of Australia's first innings total of 179. He scored only 3 in the second innings, with Australia suffering its heaviest defeat against New Zealand.
Soon after the match was finished, Wessels announced his retirement, expressing his disillusionment with Australian cricket. Little did he realise that only 6 years later he would be playing Test Cricket again, this time for his home nation.
.
After the season finished, Wessels re-settled in South Africa again and began playing, this time for Eastern Province
. Before moving to Australia, Wessels had played for Orange Free State
, Western Province
and Northern Transvaal. He remained playing for Eastern Province from 1986 until his retirement in 2000. His debut with Eastern Province was auspicious, captaining the side to a 212-run victory over Orange Free State, and personal scores of 133 and 78 against a bowling attack that included a young Allan Donald
.
Wessels was also included in Australian rebel tour to South Africa, where he played for Australia. The series of four "Tests" ended in a 1-0 victory to the South African team, but Wessels scored 327 runs at 54.50, including two centuries in the fourth match. Wessels played with many former Australian team-mates in this series, including Kim Hughes
, John Dyson
, Steve Smith, Rodney Hogg
, Carl Rackemann
and Terry Alderman
. His involvement in this tour re-ignited suspicions that he was one of the covert organisers, but it was the last time Wessels ever represented Australia in cricket.
Frank Heydenrych, writing for the 1991 Wisden, comments upon Eastern Province's success during this season:
In 1989/90 Wessels also played for South Africa against a rebel English team captained by Mike Gatting
. He scored 1 & 2 in the only match played, which South Africa won.
unanimously removed the ban against playing South Africa. As a result, South Africa could now play Test and One-day international cricket.
and Jimmy Cook
, but also had experience at Test level that no other South African player had. As a result of these credentials, he was chosen to captain the inexperienced South African side to the 1992 Cricket World Cup, which would signal the country's return to official international cricket. The decision to name Wessels captain over such local heroes as Rice and Cook (who both didn't even make the side) was met by widespread controversy. More than 10 000 signatures were collected for a petition against the dropping of Rice and Cook, while 71 percent of provincial players told the Sunday Times in South Africa, that they had no confidence in the selectors.
Despite the local outrage, Wessels led the unknown South African side in the tournament. The played against Australia in their opening match and produced what was arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament, by beating the hosts by nine wickets. However, the spectacular victory was followed by consecutive defeats against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Once again, criticism against Wessels started to mount back in South Africa, with many analysts believing that South Africa's problems were caused by the captain's conservative approach to one-day cricket. South Africa desperately needed to win their next match against the West Indies and, thanks to a vicious bowling assault on their batsmen, the South Africans claimed victory. They won their remaining matches against Pakistan and Zimbabwe, but lost against England. The last group match against India was now vital if they were to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. Rain-delays caused the match to be played 30 overs a side and, once again, South Africa managed to secure victory after India set an imposing target. Wessels and his team were to play against England in Sydney.
Four days before the semi-final, South African President F.W. de Klerk called a referendum on political reform in South Africa, and the result of the vote seemed vital for South Africa's continuing in the Cricket World Cup. Some even suggested that the team would be withdrawn from the tournament, if the result of the referendum had been negative. The result of 68.7% in favour of political reform, ensured not only the cricket team's continuing participation in the tournament, but also that of other South African sports teams.
The semi-final against England took place on 22 March 1992 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. England reached a total of 252 for 6 (in 45 overs) and South Africa required a run-rate of 5.62 to win. With 13 balls left in the match, they required 22 more runs, when rain suddenly started pouring down over Sydney. Two overs (or 12 balls) were lost and when play resumed, South Africa's new target was calculated by subtracting the amount of runs England had scored in their two least productive overs (both of which were maiden overs). South Africa thus required 22 runs off one ball. The last ball was played with batsman Brian MacMillan scoring a single, and South Africa lost the semi-final. The team did a lap of honour around the Sydney Cricket Ground, providing one of the most lasting images of the tournament.
, Courtney Walsh
, Patrick Patterson
, Desmond Haynes
and Brian Lara
. South Africa, under Wessels' leadership, controlled most of the match but fell for 148 chasing 201 for victory in the final innings. Wessels contributed 59 and 74 in this Test.
took seven wickets in the first innings and everything seemed lost for the South Africans. However, thanks to some heroic bowling and batting by the visitors, Australia was eventually set a winning target of 117 runs in the second innings. The home side was bowled out for 110 runs, and South Africa won their first Test match against Australia since 1969. Wessels was forced to return to South Africa because of his injury, thus missing out on the rest of the tour. He was, however, immediately reinstated as captain for the home series against Australia. He retired after the series, handing over the reins to teammate Hansie Cronje
.
His son, Riki Wessels
now plays for the club as a Kolpak player.
In 2008, he was chosen to coach the Chennai Super Kings
in the Indian Premier League
(IPL).
From the Channel Nine
commentary box, Tony Greig went as far as to say that Wessels "went through a period when his temperament was totally against everything that one-day cricket stood for." Wessels pointed out that he fulfilled the anchor role in the side and that it was his job to bat throughout an innings. Former Australian captain and teammate Kim Hughes
, had publicly supported Wessels on this fact, saying: "Kepler hits so many boundaries that he is always going to score enough runs and, even in one-day cricket, you need someone who can anchor the innings. He's the bloke I want in that role."
Despite the criticism, Wessels collected many player's accolades during his ODI career, including the "Man of the Series" award during the 1983 ODI series against the West Indies, as well as the "Man of the Match" award for his 81 not out against Australia in the 1992 World Cup. He was never dismissed for a duck
during his 105 ODI innings; no other retired player can boast this feat for a career longer than 40 innings.
As captain of the national side, Wessels was similarly criticised for playing too conservatively in South Africa's first test series since readmission into international cricket. Although South Africa won the home series against India by 1-0, fans and critics sharpened their pencils and attacked the captain mercilessly for his team's apparent lack of passion and ambition. The fourth test in Cape Town, in particular, was condemned across the cricketing world. The two teams scored a total of 795 runs in 433.4 overs, at an average of only 1.83 runs per over and ended in a draw. Wessels commented on the criticism in his biography, saying: "It was almost as if they thought we should win every series 4-0. They simply don't understand that modern Test cricket is tough and competitive."
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who captained South Africa after playing 24 Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
. He was the first man to have played One Day International cricket for two countries.
He was a left-handed opening batsman. He played first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
for Orange Free State
Orange Free State cricket team
The Free State cricket team is the first-class cricket team representing the province of Free State in South Africa....
, Western Province, Northern Transvaal
Northerns cricket team
Northerns cricket team has played first-class cricket in South Africa since December 1937....
, Eastern Province
Eastern Province cricket team
Eastern Province cricket team is the team representing the Eastern Province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa.-Honours:* Currie Cup - 1988–89, 1991–92; shared - 1989–90* Standard Bank Cup - 1989–90, 1991–92...
and Griqualand West
Griqualand West cricket team
The Griqualand West cricket team is the first-class cricket team that represents the province of Griqualand West in South Africa. For the purposes of the SuperSport Series, Griqualand West has merged with Free State to form the Eagles from October 2004....
in South Africa, for Queensland in Australia and Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
in England. As of the 2008 season, he was the coach for the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
franchise Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings is a franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that plays in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team is currently captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coached by Stephen Fleming, a former New Zealand cricketer. The team's home ground is the M. A...
.
Early years
Wessels was six years old when he was introduced to the game of cricket by his sister's boyfriend, Johan Volsteedt. Volsteedt taught him the basics of the game and began to regularly play cricket with him during Sunday visits to the Wessels household. A few years later, Volsteedt became the master in charge of cricket at Grey College in Bloemfontein, and coached Wessels, during his playing days for the school's first team.From a very early age, Wessels showed exceptional sporting talent. By the age of 12, he was playing rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for the Free State
Free State
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
primary schools team and he was one of the leading schoolboy swimmers in the province. However, after a close encounter with death, due to nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
, Kepler's father decided that his son would no longer be allowed to participate in swimming.
Wessels decided to switch to cricket, even though the rules of Grey College didn't allow him to play at such a young age. With the help of Johan Volsteedt (who was the first team captain), Wessels was allowed to participate in the net practices and soon cricket became his main activity during summer. During winter, he played tennis, at which he won so frequently that, by 1973, he was the number 1 under-16 player in South Africa and was offered a scholarship of $25 000 over four years from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
. However, due to the fact that he played as an under-16 against adults, Wessels began to lose regularly in senior tournaments. After a dramatic loss during the Griqualand West Open in Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
- after which he cut all the strings from his racket in the changing room - Wessels turned down the offer from Houston and decided to focus all his attention on cricket.
As a young cricket player, Wessels scored his first century at the age of nine and was taken into the Free State under-13 side during the same year, getting scores of 80, 80, 88 and 121 against players four years his senior. By the end of 1969, his batting average for Grey College (after nine innings) was 259.59. He was selected to represent the Free State schools side at the prestigious Nuffield Week for five consecutive seasons; and was selected three times for the South African schools side, the third season as captain.
Wessels finished his high school cricket career with an innings of 130 not out, during a home game for Grey College, against rival Queen's College from the Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
. His superb innings laid the foundation for Grey's first victory over Queen's in 18 years.
World Series Cricket
In the late 1970s, Wessels was drafted by Kerry PackerKerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
to play for the Australian World Series Cricket Team
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
. As a South African with little hope of playing Test cricket for his country, Wessels joined the "circus" to take advantage of the better pay and conditions that the WSC offered.
He arrived in Sydney at the age of 21 and was put on trial at the local Waverley club, for Packer to see first if Wessels was decent material for World Series Cricket. After scoring 123 against Penrith, newspapers started speculating about a place for Wessels in the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
state side. The media was unaware that Wessels had already signed for Packer. An innings of 137 followed against the Sydney club side and the selectors immediately named him in the state training squad. That was the signal Packer needed and he quickly called a press conference to announce that Wessels would be playing World Series Cricket instead.
Packer saw in Wessels a reliable opening batsman - something that the Australian WSC side was in serious need of. To help him find his feet in the new environment, Wessels played a couple of games for the second-string Cavaliers side. During his first game, two short balls had struck him in the ribs and on the chest, and in both cases, he refused to leave the field and battled on to score a 54 from the innings.
Finally, Wessels was included in the Australian XI, for a one-day game against a World XI, which included four fellow South Africans. He scored 20, made 21 in the next game and then got 92 against the Cavaliers side. A Supertest against a 'Rest of the World' side followed in Melbourne, but Wessels scored only eight in the first innings. In the second innings, he managed to get to 46. He regained some respect, however, during the next Supertest against a West Indies XI, by scoring 126 in his first innings. During the Supertest final between Australia and the Rest of the World, Wessels scored 27 in his first innings, but experienced a miserable second one. Australia lost by five wickets.
The one-day series involved a best-of-five final between Australia and the West Indies and Wessels scored an unbeaten 136 during the first match which was the only century in the WSC International Cup , during one of the finest one-day innings of his career. He scored 40 and 70 from the next two games respectively, after which the West Indies led the series 2-1. They won the series during the fourth match, thanks to a better run-rate, when Australia couldn't finish bowling their 50 overs by the scheduled end of the match at 10:30 p.m.
A third leg to the World Series was due to be played in the West Indies, but Wessels was forced to stay behind, because he still held a South African passport and would not be granted visas for the Caribbean. It was the end of his World Series Cricket experience, as Packer reached a settlement with the Australian Cricket Board in 1979. The World Series was disbanded after that.
1982/83 England Tour of Australia - Debut
Wessels stayed in Australia to qualify for the Australian Test side, playing for QueenslandQueensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
, and made his debut against England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at The Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
in Brisbane on 26 November 1982. He became the first South-African born person to play for Australia, and the 13th Australian player to score a century on debut. Wessels dominated the English bowling, with scores of 162 in the first innings and 46 in the second. He was instrumental in Australia's victory by seven wickets and was given the "Man of the Match" award. He eventually played four Tests in his debut series and scored 386 runs at an average of 48.25.
1982/83 Australian Tour of Sri Lanka
In April, 1983, Australia played their inaugural Test match against Sri LankaSri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
. Wessels continued his good form with 141, thus becoming the first Australian player to score a century against Sri Lanka. He was named "man of the match" in Australia's innings victory.
1983/84 Pakistan Tour of Australia
Wessels played in each of the five Tests against PakistanPakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
, scoring 256 runs at an average of 42.66. This included 179 in the third Test, which remained his top score. Despite this moderately good form, Wessels was outscored by five other Australian players who took advantage of the poor quality Pakistan bowling.
Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
, Dennis Lillee
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
and Rod Marsh
Rod Marsh
Rodney William Marsh MBE is a former Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western...
all retired from Australian cricket at the end of the series, and much was expected of Wessels (and others) to score consistently in the upcoming series against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
.
1983/84 Australian tour of West Indies
Any hope that Wessels and other new Australian batsmen would cope against the West Indian fast bowling was dashed. Wessels scored 4 and 20 in the first Test and 4 and 4 in the second Test, before injury ruled him out of the rest of the series. He was dismissed by West Indian fast bowler Joel GarnerJoel Garner
Joel Garner , also known as "Big Joel" or "Big Bird", is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early '80s West Indies cricket teams....
three times, and was nicknamed "Joel's bunny" as a result. For the first time in his Test career, Wessels' form had deserted him and he was not a certainty for selection when the West Indians toured Australia in 1984/85.
1984/85 West Indian Tour of Australia
As a Test player, Wessels' most successful period came during the disastrous West Indian tour of Australia. After scoring only 13 and 0 in the first Test, Wessels was in danger of being dropped from the Australian side. However, due to the poor performance of almost all of Australia's batting in that match, he was retained for the second Test. He responded by going out for 0 after the second ball, and many people thought that his career was over. In the second innings, however, he top scored with 61, giving the selectors no option but to include him for the third Test. Batting up number 3, Wessels top scored again with 98 runs in the first innings and 70 in the second, in a match where the Australian batting was being taken apart by the West Indian bowlers.The fourth Test saw Wessels continue his heavy scoring, with 90 and 0 helping Australia force a draw. It was in the fifth Test, however, which saw him totally dominate the West Indian bowlers with 173. His batting helped Australia to 9 (declared) for 471, which was a winning total on a wicket that was taking spin.
Wessels scored 505 runs at an average of 56.11 against the West Indies, which was more than double the amount of runs scored by any other Australian batsmen during that series. Given the dominance of West Indian bowling at the time, and the fragility of the Australian batting line-up, Wessels' performance during that series was world class.
1985 Australian Tour of England
Unfortunately, Wessels was unable to maintain his form during the 1985 Ashes Tour of England. Although he scored three fifties (top score 83), Wessels ended the series with 368 runs at an average of 33.45. While this was not a failure, it was certainly below his best. Australia lost the series and suffered two very heavy innings defeats as, Allan BorderAllan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
aside, the batting lineup become increasingly fragile.
It is likely that the impending rebel tour to South Africa
South African rebel tours
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because South Africa was throughout this period banned from international cricket due to the apartheid regime...
affected Wessels' concentration during the 1985 Ashes tour. Because of his South African background, Wessels was seen by many players and officials as one of the major contacts for the Rebel Tour amongst the Australian players. Wessels has steadfastly denied this accusation.
1985/86 New Zealand Tour of Australia - Retirement
Wessels' final match for Australia was the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane, 8–12 November 1985. Wessels was alone in resisting the devastating bowling of Richard HadleeRichard Hadlee
Sir Richard John Hadlee, MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.Hadlee was...
, scoring 70 out of Australia's first innings total of 179. He scored only 3 in the second innings, with Australia suffering its heaviest defeat against New Zealand.
Soon after the match was finished, Wessels announced his retirement, expressing his disillusionment with Australian cricket. Little did he realise that only 6 years later he would be playing Test Cricket again, this time for his home nation.
Between Test Careers
Cricket was still Wessels' profession, and he played a full season (1985/86) of Sheffield Shield Cricket for Queensland where he scored 957 runs at an average of 50.37. He also captained the side in Border's absence, and was unlucky not to captain the first Queensland side to win the Sheffield Shield. The final, between NSW and Queensland, was held in Sydney on 14-18 March, 1986. Despite Wessels scoring 166 and 29 in his last match for Queensland, and despite a dominating all-round performance from his team, the match ended in a draw, which allowed NSW to win the Sheffield Shield. Wessels' last act for Queensland was a creditable individual bowling performance of 16-5-26-2, including the wicket of a young Mark WaughMark Waugh
Mark Edward Waugh AM is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as...
.
After the season finished, Wessels re-settled in South Africa again and began playing, this time for Eastern Province
Eastern Province cricket team
Eastern Province cricket team is the team representing the Eastern Province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa.-Honours:* Currie Cup - 1988–89, 1991–92; shared - 1989–90* Standard Bank Cup - 1989–90, 1991–92...
. Before moving to Australia, Wessels had played for Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
, Western Province
Western Province Cricket Association
The Western Province Cricket Association is the governing body for cricket in the Cape Town region. Its representative team, Western Province, competes in South Africa's domestic competition the Supersport Series, formerly known as the Castle Cup or the Currie Cup....
and Northern Transvaal. He remained playing for Eastern Province from 1986 until his retirement in 2000. His debut with Eastern Province was auspicious, captaining the side to a 212-run victory over Orange Free State, and personal scores of 133 and 78 against a bowling attack that included a young Allan Donald
Allan Donald
Allan Anthony Donald is a former South African cricketer and one of their most successful pace bowlers.In his prime, he was one of the best fast bowlers ever seen in Test cricket, reaching the top of the ICC Test rankings in 1998 and peaked with a top ICC ranking of 895 points the next year, the...
.
Wessels was also included in Australian rebel tour to South Africa, where he played for Australia. The series of four "Tests" ended in a 1-0 victory to the South African team, but Wessels scored 327 runs at 54.50, including two centuries in the fourth match. Wessels played with many former Australian team-mates in this series, including Kim Hughes
Kim Hughes
Kimberley John Hughes is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Tests between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a "rebel" Australian team in a tour of South Africa, who at the time were subject to a sporting boycott.A right-handed...
, John Dyson
John Dyson
John Dyson is a former international cricketer who is now a cricket coach, most recently in charge of the West Indies....
, Steve Smith, Rodney Hogg
Rodney Hogg
Rodney Malcolm Hogg is a former Victorian, South Australian and Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler. Hogg played in 38 Tests and 71 ODIs between 1978 and 1985. In Tests he took 123 wickets at an average of 28.47.-Career:...
, Carl Rackemann
Carl Rackemann
Carl Gray Rackemann OAM , born in Wondai, Queensland, is a former Queensland and Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler in 12 Tests, 52 ODIs and 167 first-class cricket matches in a career spanning 1979–80 to 1995–96....
and Terry Alderman
Terry Alderman
Terence Michael Alderman is a former Australian cricketer.He began his first-class career in 1974 with Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and came to international prominence when he was chosen for the Australian national team to tour England in 1981...
. His involvement in this tour re-ignited suspicions that he was one of the covert organisers, but it was the last time Wessels ever represented Australia in cricket.
Frank Heydenrych, writing for the 1991 Wisden, comments upon Eastern Province's success during this season:
- ...from the way that Kepler Wessels, (the Eastern Province captain), had reinforced their playing squad with high-quality players, it was difficult to see an immediate end to the golden days (and nights) he had brought to Eastern Province.
In 1989/90 Wessels also played for South Africa against a rebel English team captained by Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting
Michael "Mike" William Gatting OBE is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
. He scored 1 & 2 in the only match played, which South Africa won.
Captain of the 'New' South Africa
With apartheid being removed from South Africa in 1991, the International Cricket CouncilInternational Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
unanimously removed the ban against playing South Africa. As a result, South Africa could now play Test and One-day international cricket.
The 1992 Cricket World Cup
When South Africa played its first Test since March, 1970, ten of the eleven players were making their debuts. At 34, Wessels had both the first-class experience of contemporaries such as Clive RiceClive Rice
Clive Edward Butler Rice is a former South African international cricketer. An all-rounder, Rice ended his first class cricket career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49....
and Jimmy Cook
Jimmy Cook
Stephen James Cook is a former South African cricketer who played in three Tests and four ODIs from 1991 to 1993. His son Stephen Cook currently plays for Gauteng....
, but also had experience at Test level that no other South African player had. As a result of these credentials, he was chosen to captain the inexperienced South African side to the 1992 Cricket World Cup, which would signal the country's return to official international cricket. The decision to name Wessels captain over such local heroes as Rice and Cook (who both didn't even make the side) was met by widespread controversy. More than 10 000 signatures were collected for a petition against the dropping of Rice and Cook, while 71 percent of provincial players told the Sunday Times in South Africa, that they had no confidence in the selectors.
Despite the local outrage, Wessels led the unknown South African side in the tournament. The played against Australia in their opening match and produced what was arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament, by beating the hosts by nine wickets. However, the spectacular victory was followed by consecutive defeats against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Once again, criticism against Wessels started to mount back in South Africa, with many analysts believing that South Africa's problems were caused by the captain's conservative approach to one-day cricket. South Africa desperately needed to win their next match against the West Indies and, thanks to a vicious bowling assault on their batsmen, the South Africans claimed victory. They won their remaining matches against Pakistan and Zimbabwe, but lost against England. The last group match against India was now vital if they were to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. Rain-delays caused the match to be played 30 overs a side and, once again, South Africa managed to secure victory after India set an imposing target. Wessels and his team were to play against England in Sydney.
Four days before the semi-final, South African President F.W. de Klerk called a referendum on political reform in South Africa, and the result of the vote seemed vital for South Africa's continuing in the Cricket World Cup. Some even suggested that the team would be withdrawn from the tournament, if the result of the referendum had been negative. The result of 68.7% in favour of political reform, ensured not only the cricket team's continuing participation in the tournament, but also that of other South African sports teams.
The semi-final against England took place on 22 March 1992 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. England reached a total of 252 for 6 (in 45 overs) and South Africa required a run-rate of 5.62 to win. With 13 balls left in the match, they required 22 more runs, when rain suddenly started pouring down over Sydney. Two overs (or 12 balls) were lost and when play resumed, South Africa's new target was calculated by subtracting the amount of runs England had scored in their two least productive overs (both of which were maiden overs). South Africa thus required 22 runs off one ball. The last ball was played with batsman Brian MacMillan scoring a single, and South Africa lost the semi-final. The team did a lap of honour around the Sydney Cricket Ground, providing one of the most lasting images of the tournament.
1991/92 tour of the West Indies
South Africa narrowly lost to a West Indian team featuring such players as Curtly AmbroseCurtly Ambrose
Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose is a former West Indian cricketer. His skill was as a right-arm fast bowler, especially in partnership with Courtney Walsh...
, Courtney Walsh
Courtney Walsh
Courtney Andrew Walsh is a former international cricketer who represented the West Indies from 1984 to 2001, captaining the West Indies in 22 Test matches...
, Patrick Patterson
Patrick Patterson
Balfour Patrick Patterson is a former fast bowler for the West Indian cricket team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Early life:...
, Desmond Haynes
Desmond Haynes
Desmond Leo Haynes is a West Indian cricketer and cricket coach. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1991. Haynes formed a formidable partnership with Gordon Greenidge for the West Indies cricket team in Test cricket during 1980s. Between them they managed 16 century stands, four in excess of...
and Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
. South Africa, under Wessels' leadership, controlled most of the match but fell for 148 chasing 201 for victory in the final innings. Wessels contributed 59 and 74 in this Test.
1993/94 tour of Australia
During the 1993/94 international season, Wessels' cricketing career reached full circle, as he captained the South African side in a tour to Australia. The first Test match of the tour, in Melbourne, was drawn. The second, and arguably most memorable, test was played out in front of a capacity crowd in Sydney. It turned out to be Wessels' last match of the tour, following a hand injury during play. Shane WarneShane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
took seven wickets in the first innings and everything seemed lost for the South Africans. However, thanks to some heroic bowling and batting by the visitors, Australia was eventually set a winning target of 117 runs in the second innings. The home side was bowled out for 110 runs, and South Africa won their first Test match against Australia since 1969. Wessels was forced to return to South Africa because of his injury, thus missing out on the rest of the tour. He was, however, immediately reinstated as captain for the home series against Australia. He retired after the series, handing over the reins to teammate Hansie Cronje
Hansie Cronje
Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s...
.
After Retirement
After retiring he coached English county side Northamptonshire until 2006.His son, Riki Wessels
Riki Wessels
Mattheus Hendrik Wessels, also known as Riki Wessels, is an Australian cricketer who has played for the cricket teams of Marylebone Cricket Club and Northamptonshire...
now plays for the club as a Kolpak player.
In 2008, he was chosen to coach the Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings is a franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that plays in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team is currently captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coached by Stephen Fleming, a former New Zealand cricketer. The team's home ground is the M. A...
in the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
(IPL).
Criticism
Wessels was the subject of much criticism during his cricket career, especially from his country of birth, South Africa. It ranged from doubts over his ability to play one-day cricket, to his style of captaining as well as his rather serious approach to the game.Ability to play one-day cricket
Wessels was, at times, heavily criticised for his alleged inability to play one-day cricket. Although he played 109 One Day Internationals for both Australia and South Africa, he averaged only 34.35, at a strike rate of 55.3, and scored only one ODI century in his career.From the Channel Nine
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
commentary box, Tony Greig went as far as to say that Wessels "went through a period when his temperament was totally against everything that one-day cricket stood for." Wessels pointed out that he fulfilled the anchor role in the side and that it was his job to bat throughout an innings. Former Australian captain and teammate Kim Hughes
Kim Hughes
Kimberley John Hughes is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Tests between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a "rebel" Australian team in a tour of South Africa, who at the time were subject to a sporting boycott.A right-handed...
, had publicly supported Wessels on this fact, saying: "Kepler hits so many boundaries that he is always going to score enough runs and, even in one-day cricket, you need someone who can anchor the innings. He's the bloke I want in that role."
Despite the criticism, Wessels collected many player's accolades during his ODI career, including the "Man of the Series" award during the 1983 ODI series against the West Indies, as well as the "Man of the Match" award for his 81 not out against Australia in the 1992 World Cup. He was never dismissed for a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
during his 105 ODI innings; no other retired player can boast this feat for a career longer than 40 innings.
Captaincy
During the 1989 Currie Cup final in Port Elizabeth, Wessels angered South African cricket authorities by letting his Eastern Province side bat deep into the third day, without declaring the first innings closed. He was accused of killing the game and ruining what was supposed to be the annual showpiece of South African cricket, by not giving his opponents, Transvaal, a fair chance at batting. However, the decision proved to be correct from an Eastern Province point of view, as the home side managed to bowl Transvaal out twice by the fifth day, thereby winning by an innings and 103 runs.As captain of the national side, Wessels was similarly criticised for playing too conservatively in South Africa's first test series since readmission into international cricket. Although South Africa won the home series against India by 1-0, fans and critics sharpened their pencils and attacked the captain mercilessly for his team's apparent lack of passion and ambition. The fourth test in Cape Town, in particular, was condemned across the cricketing world. The two teams scored a total of 795 runs in 433.4 overs, at an average of only 1.83 runs per over and ended in a draw. Wessels commented on the criticism in his biography, saying: "It was almost as if they thought we should win every series 4-0. They simply don't understand that modern Test cricket is tough and competitive."
See also
- World Series CricketWorld Series CricketWorld Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
- The AshesThe AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
- South African rebel toursSouth African rebel toursThe South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because South Africa was throughout this period banned from international cricket due to the apartheid regime...