Northamptonshire sign Ryan Rickelton on a short-term deal

South African batter Ryan Rickelton has been signed up by Northamptonshire on a short-term deal for their next two County Championship matches.

The middle-order batter will be available to play in the games against Warwickshire at Wantage Road starting on Sunday (June 26) and Kent at Canterbury (July 11).

With ten first-class centuries to his name, Rickelton has smashed nearly 3,000 runs in 38 first-class games of cricket at a phenomenal average of 50.38. On the back of his exploits in domestic cricket, he earned his Test debut earlier this year against Bangladesh in March. He has also represented South Africa at the Under 19 level. 

Rickelton is excited to join Northamptonshire as he has always wanted to play county cricket. The 25-year-old Proteas cricketer said he's looking forward to contributing to his team's success in the competition.

"It's really exciting and a great opportunity to be joining Northamptonshire. I have always wanted to play county cricket and to be part of such a well-rounded, strong group is brilliant and I look forward to hopefully contributing to the side's success in the County Championship," Ryan Rickelton said in an official statement released by Northamptonshire cricket on Monday (June 20).

Northamptonshire captain Ricardo Vasconcelos is delighted to have Rickelton: "I'm delighted to have Ryan join us for a couple of games, we've known each other since we were little so I'm looking forward to hopefully getting to bat together for Northamptonshire."

"He's a really positive batsman, he plays his shots and has scored a lot of runs in the last couple of years. He got off the mark in Test cricket with a reverse sweep I think, so that tells you a bit about him."

The Northants are reeling at the eighth position in the Division One table, and Rickelton would be looking to change the team's fortunes with the bat.