Name: Ryan Rickelton
Ryan David Rickelton, is a cricketer from South Africa. He entered the international arena for the South African cricket team on March 31, 2022. Known as a left-handed wicket-keeper batter, Rickelton plays for Gauteng and MI Cape Town in domestic cricket.
He commenced a first-class career representing Gauteng against Northerns. In August 2017, he secured a spot in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stars' roster for the inaugural season of the T20 Global League. His Twenty20 debut for Gauteng came during the 2017 Africa T20 Cup on September 1, 2017. However, in October 2017, Cricket South Africa initially deferred the tournament until November 2018, ultimately canceling it thereafter.
Emerging as the top run-scorer in the 2017–18 CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge tournament for Gauteng, he amassed 351 runs across eight matches. Similarly, he excelled as the leading run-scorer in the 2017–18 Sunfoil 3-Day Cup for Gauteng, accumulating 562 runs across six matches.
In June 2018, he earned a spot in the Highveld Lions team for the 2018–19 season. The subsequent month, he received a call-up to the Cricket South Africa Emerging Squad. In October 2018, he joined Jozi Stars' squad for the inaugural Mzansi Super League T20 tournament. Come September 2019, he was selected for the Jozi Stars team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament and also found a place in Gauteng's squad for the 2019–20 CSA Provincial T20 Cup. His leadership skills came to the fore in February 2022 when he was appointed as the captain of the Imperial Lions for the 2021–22 CSA T20 Challenge. In 2022, Rickelton inked a deal with Northamptonshire to compete in that year's County Championship.
In youth Test cricket, Ryan Rickelton has showcased consistent batting performances across various metrics. Throughout 2 matches and 4 innings, he accumulated a total of 174 runs at an impressive average of 43.50. His highest score of 81 demonstrates his ability to anchor innings effectively. With a solid strike rate of 36.02.
His youth ODI career spans from 2014 to 2015, during which he played a total of 9 matches. With a batting average of 14.77, he accumulated 133 runs without being dismissed in any innings. His highest score stands at 47 runs. Against Bangladesh U19, he played 5 matches, scoring 40 runs at an average of 8.00. When facing England U19, he showcased a better performance, scoring 93 runs in 4 matches at an average of 23.25. His performances in both Bangladesh and England were consistent with averages of 8.00 and 23.25 respectively. In terms of continents, he performed similarly in both Asia and Europe, scoring 40 and 93 runs respectively, across 5 matches each. Notably, his performance away from home was slightly better, with an average of 14.77 across 9 matches.
In Test cricket, during the 2022–23 season, he played four matches, amassing a total of 165 runs with a highest score of 42, averaging 23.6. His innings were characterized by resilience, facing 343 balls at a strike rate of 48.1, including 20 boundaries and one six.
In the ODI format, he participated in two matches in 2023, accumulating 17 runs with an average of 8.5, striking at 65.4. His career in first-class cricket spans from 2015 onwards, featuring 59 matches where he amassed an impressive 4410 runs, with a highest score of 202 not out, averaging 50.1.
In List A cricket since 2016, he has scored 2963 runs in 73 matches, boasting a commendable average of 46.3. Rickelton has also made significant contributions in the T20 format since 2023, accumulating 2223 runs in 88 matches at an average of 28.9, with a highest score of 98, striking at an impressive rate of 137.1, including 190 boundaries and 97 sixes. On the field, Rickelton has showcased his wicketkeeping skills, securing catches and effecting run-outs and stumpings across Test and ODI formats.