Jo Angel joins elite 400 wicket club

Today during the Pura cup game v NSW, veteran Western Warrior's pace-man Jo Angel reached another career milestone when he brought up his 400th first class wicket for Western Australia.

Angel reached the 400 wicket milestone when he took the second wicket of NSW's 2nd innings, having Brad Haddin caught by Kade Harvey at cover.

It is the second time in the past six days that Jo Angel has achieved a significant personal feat for his cricket career. Angel became the all time leading wicket-taker in Australian domestic limited overs cricket during Wednesday night's ING cup game v the NSW Blues.

Speaking on his 400th wicket Angel said, "When I first started playing for WA I never really looked too far down the track towards these sorts of things. I really just want to thank all the guys I've played with over the years. I'm also really grateful that I've been able to play for the Western Warriors at a time when we ve had a lot of team success".

Chief Executive Officer of the WACA Kath White said, "Jo Angel has been a tremendous player for WA over the past decade. He thoroughly deserves all his success because he is such a fantastic team player. Jo's willingness to work hard and get the best results for the team makes him a tremendous role model to all young people, not just young cricketers. The WACA is very proud to call him our own".

In recognition of Angel's rare achievement, Kath White and Western Power Managing Director David Eiszele will present Angel with a special cake in the WA rooms at the end of today's Pura cup game v the NSW Blues.

The next major milestone looming in Jo Angel's career is Terry Alderman's record of 384, for the most wickets taken for WA in Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup competition.

The next opportunity for Jo to break Alderman's record is during the Western Warrior's next 1st class game v the Victorian Bushrangers at the MCG, from Thursday 28 February to Sunday 3rd March 2002.

In total, Jo Angel has taken 440 first class wickets since his first class debut v NSW at the WACA ground during the 1991-92 season. The total includes taking 400 first-class wickets for Western Australia. The difference in the total has come from taking 10 wickets for Australia, 3 wickets for Australia A and 27 wickets for the Young Australians.

Jo is the second Western Australian to claim 400 wickets for WA, with Terry Alderman the leading wicket-taker with 433. Angel is the 6th bowler to claim 400 wickets for the one State. First-class career totals of other leading Western Australian bowlers include: Graham McKenzie 1219, Terry Alderman 956 and Dennis Lillee 882.