Kepler Wessels faced a hurdle in his career when he played the West Indies in 1984. He made 32 runs in his four innings in the West Indies and In the first test in Perth he made 13 and 0 with runs needed in Brisbane to keep his spot in the team.
After a first-innings duck, Kepler changed his mindset to have an incredible summer, notching 61, 98, 70, 90, and 0 with an epic 173 in the Sydney Test to prove his credentials against the premier pace bowling attack in the world.
He spoke with Matt Ellis on the Cricket Library Podcast about the shift in approach that helped him to have success and what that success meant to him.
In the interview Kepler also shares his reflections on the origins of his passion for cricket, breaking into First Class Cricket at age 16 whilst still at school, moving to England and the influence of Tony Greig in getting him to Australia to play World Series Cricket.
We hear about Kepler’s test debut, where he made a big hundred, and we clear up who was to blame for the run-out of Greg Chappell in that innings.
Kepler speaks of the surprise of returning to play international cricket for South Africa, the thrill of beating Australia in their first game of the 92 World Cup and the disappointment of bowing out in a rain-affected semi-final.
He shares the plan they hatched to dismiss Allan Border in the famous Sydney Test Match of 1994 and the elation of scoring a century at Lord’s at the back end of his career.
Kepler updates us on what he is up to now, including his work at Kepler Wessels Training.
Of course, we don’t let him get away without asking who the three people he would most like to join him at the cricket nets.
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Ken Piesse – A Life In Cricket Writing – The Cricket Library
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