Top 3 batting performances of Kepler Wessels in Tests while playing for South Africa

Former South African-Australian cricketer Kepler Wessels was born on 14 September 1957 in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State. Wessels is the only batter in the history of Test cricket to score centuries and 1000 runs for two separate countries. He captained the South African team after playing 24 Tests for Australia.

The left-handed opener made his international debut in the longer format in November 1982. He played a total of 40 Tests and 109 ODIs for both countries, scoring 2788 and 3367 runs, respectively. As he turns 67, let’s take a look at his best performances in Tests while playing for the Proteas.

Here are Kepler Wessels’ top 3 batting performances for South Africa in Test cricket:

1. 74(174) vs West Indies, Bridgetown, 1992

Kepler Wessels played a captain’s knock in the second innings to help South Africa win the Only Test against West Indies in 1992. Chasing a target of 201, the visitors got off to a poor start as they lost both their openers early on. Half-centuries by Wessels and Peter Kirsten brought them back into the game. However, there was no contribution from the rest of the batsmen, resulting in their 52-run defeat.

2. 95*(169) vs India, Port Elizabeth, 1992

had a horror outing in the first innings of the third Test against India as he got out for a duck. Despite the captain’s failure, South Africa managed to take a lead of more than 60 runs. The Indian batters once again struggled to find runs and they could set a target of only 153 runs. This time, Wessels remained unbeaten on 95 and took the team over the line with nine wickets in hand.

1. 105(217) vs England, Lord’s, 1994

The southpaw’s belligerent ton (105 off 217) helped South Africa reach 357 in the first innings of the 1994 series opener against England. The hosts failed to shine in their first innings batting and the Proteas batters took advantage of it by setting a massive target of 456. This time, the English team fell like a pack of cards as they were bowled out for just 99 runs.

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