Tom Westley

Tom Westley has been a prolific cricketer for Essex since his debut back in 2007, while he made his Second XI debut in 2004, aged at 15. He is a former England Under-19 player, who recorded his maiden first-class century for Durham University in 2009. Despite being one of the top run-getters in the domestic circuit, the Essex man took a decade to break into the English Test team. 

Born in Cambridge, Westley was first spotted by Keith Fletcher and then brought in as a middle-order batter as a 14-year-old in 2003. Three years later, the youngster made his List-A against the touring Sri Lankans, after piling record-breaking runs for Durham University. By 2007, he started getting regular opportunities for Essex, across formats, while he was also part of the England team for the U19 World Cup of 2008. 

As the Cambridge-born’s career progressed, his performances started being spectacular. However, it wasn’t until 2012, when he scored 185 against Glamorgan in a Championship game that earned him real recognition. The following year, Westley played an Ashes warm-up game where he sustained a finger injury, which ruled him out of the whole 2013 season. 

The Essex cricketer made a solid comeback in 2014 to have his breakthrough year. He was named the DeVines Player of the Year, alongside the Player’s Player of the Year and the Batsman of the Year. Later that year, he joined the England Performance Programme's batting and spin camp in Sri Lanka. He used his form and stacked hundred after hundred, which led to his Test debut. 

In 2015, Westley scored a century against the Australian tourists at Chelmsford, before smashing three more tons for Essex, that season as Essex won their first County Championship title in 25 years. He then smoked a three-figure mark for Lions against South Africa in 2017. All these factors caught the attention of the England selectors, Westley was named the replacement for the injured Gary Ballance, during the home series against the Proteas. 

The Cambridge-born shone in all three formats during the 2019 season to help the club clinch the County Championship and T20 Blast trophy. In 2020, Westley was also appointed as the club captain after Ryan ten Doeschate stepped down from the role. He is a natural leader and the role could help the Essex man take his game North. 

(As of July 2021)