David Wiese

An ever-dependable all-rounder, David Wiese is a professional South African cricketer who made his first-class debut for Easterns against the Northerns in 2005. An aggressive middle-order batsman, Wiese’s most remarkable performance came in 2008 playing for South Africa Academy where he chipped in with a high-class performance of 138 runs and 3 wickets to power his team to a 27-run victory over the Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy.

A limited-overs specialist, his ability to change the pace and variety and cameos with the bat has seen him under the radar of selectors. In South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka in August 2013, Wiese was brought in to cover for the ageing and unfit Jacques Kallis. Although he replaced Kallis to make an appearance in the T20s, his rather lifeless performance saw him sent back home early.

Wiese was drafted into the Royal Challengers Bangalore side for a whopping INR 2.8 crore. His inaugural season in the IPL saw him pick up 16 wickets, the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the squad. After his IPL exploits, Wiese played his ODI debut against a rough ‘n’ tough New Zealand on August 19, 2015 and made little or no impact with either bat or ball in the 20-run victory. 

Wiese, a regular in the Sussex side in all formats, was stripped of the contract at the start of the 2020 Championship season and was re-signed for the 2021 Vitality Blast Tournament in November 2020. The 35-year-old will be classed as an overseas player next summer. 

The South African has so far enjoyed four fantastic years in Hove since making his debut against Somerset in a T20 in 2016 and was in scintillating form throughout the 2020 Vitality Blast. Wiese enjoyed a successful campaign in the Vitality Blast in 2020, scoring 281 runs including a career-best 79 not out against Middlesex at Lord’s. 

(As of May 2021)