Riley Patrick Meredith, popularly known as Riley Meredith is an Australian Cricketer born on 21st June 1996 in the city of Hobart, Tasmania. He is a right-arm fast bowler who is known for his pace and wicket-taking abilities.
Riley Meredith has played for Tasmania in all three forms of cricket. He made his List-A debut for Cricket Australia XI against Pakistanis at Brisbane on January 10, 2017. Meredith opened the bowling for CA XI in that contest with Henry Thornton. Unfortunately, Meredith could not scalp a single wicket. At the same time, he conceded 62 runs in nine overs. Meredith has taken 28 wickets in 21 List-A matches so far.
Speaking about his numbers in the longest format of the game, Meredith received his maiden first-class cap for Tasmania against Victoria at Melbourne on November 13, 2017. The match ended in a draw but Meredith opened his account in first-class cricket by taking the wicket of all-rounder Daniel Christian. As of April 2021, Riley has taken 53 wickets in 18 first-class matches.
In his domestic T20 career, Meredith has scalped 47 wickets in 37 matches. He made his debut for the Hobart Hurricanes against the Perth Scorchers at Perth on February 1, 2018. It was the first semi final of BBL 2017/18, and Meredith dismissed opposition captain Adam Voges to help Hobart win.
After some magnificent performances in the Big Bash League, Riley Meredith earned a call-up to the Australian Cricket Team T20I squad for the New Zealand tour in 2021. He played his first T20I game against New Zealand on March 3, 2021. So far, in three T20Is, Meredith has accounted for four wickets at an economy rate of 7.54.
Riley Meredith is yet to make his IPL debut. The 24-year-old pacer from Australia bagged his maiden IPL contract at IPL Auction 2021 from the Punjab Kings Team. Although the Aussie has not played much international cricket yet, the Mohali-based franchise spent INR 8 crore to acquire Meredith’s services in IPL 2021. The Delhi Capitals fought an intense bidding war with Punjab to sign Meredith, where Punjab emerged victorious ultimately.
Hailing from Tasmania, Riley Meredith came into the limelight during the 2017/18 domestic season with a brilliant performance for the Tigers. He is gifted with natural pace and athleticism. Hence, his presence will help the Punjab Kings a lot in IPL 2021. It will be exciting to see how he performs in his first IPL season.
