Notts pair aim for BPL selection

By Dave Bracegirdle

Nottinghamshire duo Riki Wessels and Andy Carter have made themselves available for auction for the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League.

The tournament, which has an opening ceremony on January 17 and begins the following day, is anticipated to feature seven sides, one more than the inaugural event which was won by Dhaka Gladiators.

Financial issues, including the late payment to some players, dogged the first tournament. Nevertheless, there will be no shortage of county players hoping to be involved in BPL2.

“I’m happy to put myself forward for this,” said 24-year-old Carter. “For me it’s all about gaining experience of playing in the subcontinent. I have been to the Dennis Lillee academy in India but Bangladesh would be something different and hopefully this opportunity would put me in the shop window for other things.”

Fast bowler Carter, at 6ft 7in tall, has developed his skills to cope with the demands of the shortest format and has helped Notts to the quarter-finals in each of the last two seasons.

Like his team-mate, 27-year-old Wessels is also optimistic his stats in county cricket will gain him a spot. The aggressive top order batsman can boast a strike rate of almost 140 from his 87 previous t20 matches and can add useful balance to a side as a more-than-capable wicketkeeper. 

“I’m hoping that I’ll be picked up in the auction,” he said. “But if not there is still a chance afterwards that the teams can fill their roster by signing players and I’m hoping that one or two sides may be interested.”

The bidding process for the Bangladesh Premier League starts on December 20 for the six existing sides plus Rangpur, the newly-added seventh franchise.



Date: 17/12/2012 16:58:35 by Dave Bracegirdle
In: Today | Nottinghamshire |