Publications
Partners
Cape Town - English county Sussex have expressed their delight in signing Proteas all-rounder David Wiese on a three-year deal.
Wiese, who will arrive in England in June, joins Sussex under the Kolpak ruling which means he is unavailable to represent South Africa in international cricket.
The 31-year-old has played 20 T20 Internationals and six One-Day Internationals for South Africa, having taken 33 wickets across the two formats. His best International figures of 5 for 23 came against the West Indies in Durban in 2015.
He played for Sussex in two separate stints last season, firstly as an overseas player in the T20 Blast, taking 4 for 38 on debut against Somerset.
He returned in the latter part of the season to feature for Sussex in the One-Day Cup and County Championship, hitting an unbeaten 70 against Worcestershire in the final home game of the season.
“We are thrilled to have David joining us at Sussex Cricket. He is an extremely accomplished all round cricketer who is effective in all formats and will bring great experience and skill to our group,” Sussex head coach Mark Davis told the county’s official website.
“He will add significantly to our white ball team with his bowling and powerful batting at the death and has already shown his potential last season in the longer format. His experience will be invaluable to our young developing team.”
Wiese, who will return to South Africa and play for the Titans in the English off-season, is looking forward to a new chapter in his career.
“I am very excited to be joining Sussex on a long term deal. I thoroughly enjoyed my stint with the club last year and it made my decision so much easier when offered to return. Sussex is an extremely ambitious club and I look forward to being part of their future.
“I would like to thank Cricket South Africa for giving me the opportunity of fulfilling my lifelong dream of representing my country in the sport I love.”
Wiese is the latest in a long line of Proteas players to have signed Kolpak deals.
Last week, fast bowler Kyle Abbott and batsman Rilee Rossouw shocked the South African cricket fraternity by making themselves unavailable for the Proteas.
Another Proteas bowler, Marchant de Lange, is also reportedly set to sign a Kolpak deal.
According to Afrikaans weekly, Rapport, De Lange could join Glamorgan, with negotiations between the fast bowler and the English county “at an advanced stage”.
De Lange, 26, has played two Tests, four ODIs and six T20Is for South Africa in an injury-plagued career.
Other Proteas players to have recently signed in England include batsmen Colin Ingram and Stiaan van Zyl, spinner Simon Harmer and fast bowler Hardus Viljoen.
