Riki Wessels leaves Worcestershire with immediate effect

Wessels' two-and-a-half-year spell at New Road has been brought to a premature end in an effort to offer more opportunities to young players

A day to remember for Worcestershire's homegrown crop: Jack Haynes and the first of many

Riki Wessels has left Worcestershire after two-and-a-half years at the club.

The 35-year-old's exit is to allow for young players to come through at New Road.

Wessels has not featured for Worcestershire since the conclusion of their T20 Blast campaign.

Josh Baker and Jacques Banton have both been handed List A debuts in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

The former Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper-batter arrived in 2019 and has played 67 times across the formats.

He was part of the Rapids side which reached the Blast final in 2019, where they lost to Essex.

"I’d like to thank the club and supporters for my time at Worcestershire which I have really enjoyed," he said.

"With the club going in a different direction, it is the right time for me to move on but I am very much keen to continue playing in the coming years."

Steering group chairman Paul Pridgeon added: "Given that we as a club feel we need to introduce more opportunities for our young batsmen, we have agreed with Riki Wessels to release him from his contract so he can pursue other opportunities.

"Riki has done an excellent job for us particularly in T20 cricket and we wish him well going forward with his career."

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.