Wessels quits short of his milestone

Centurion (South Africa) - Kepler Wessels, not one to shirk the responsibility of knocking off a runs to break the odd record or two, has decided at the age of 42 that his knees have had enough and that retirement is the better option to yet another visit to the orthopaedic surgeon.

What is surprising about Sunday?s announcement from Kimberley is that it comes seven months after it should have been made at the end of last season. But the quest to join a group of South African batting elite persuaded him that the 297 runs needed to join Barry Richards, Kenny McEwan and Clive Rice, who have scored 25 000 runs in a first-class career, required one step further to achieve an impressive target.

After all, fielding 200 odd overs in the Kimberley heat and on a pitch, which apart from about 40 minutes on the last morning, had been as solid as the nearby national road, was not at all what he had in mind at the start of the SuperSport Series game against Gauteng.

So, the man who played Tests for two countries, led South Africa on their first World Cup sortie and Test series after emerging from isolation, won caps of five provinces as well as Sussex and Queensland, has bowed out of a game he partly dominated for 26 years.

Had he spent an extra season with Sussex instead of joining the Kerry Packer circus in 1978 he may have reached that 25 000-runs target. His final career first-class average of about 50.78 is surpassed only by Richards of those South Africans who scored more than 20 000 runs.

Officially Wessels, whose crab-like left-hand batsmanship, apart from his stoicism and trench-style qualities, drew few admirers, has quit for what he says is ?a lack of motivation? and ?business reasons?. He could hardly say his knees were causing him problems.

Yet that was the message which some veteran observers of the Griqualand West captain had to say about his final performance. ?There were times when he struggled to chase the ball to the boundary,? was one comment. The lure of that 25 000 runs milestone, however, turned into a cruel millstone and ended in a sad departure of a man who is an example of dedication, courage which has turned him into a role model for many modern youngsters. At least he brought Griquas a trophy is what should have been his last season.

Pat Symcox is expected to act as captain of the side in their A Section game against Eastern Province in Port Elizabeth starting on Thursday while Wessels can now concentrate on his role as a national selector.