Northamptonshire County Cricket Club has announced that Rory Kleinveldt will be leaving the club at the end of August to return to South Africa.The 35-year-old has been a mainstay of the Northamptonshire team since arriving at the County Ground in 2015.
A genuine all-rounder, Kleinveldt – who represented South Africa in all three formats of the sport – regularly made match-winning contributions with both bat and ball.
His records speak for themselves:
– Over 1,200 runs scored in the Specsavers County Championship at an average of 23.25
– 140 Specsavers County Championship wickets with best figures of 9-65.
– 519 runs scored in one-day cricket at an average of 34.60
– 52 wickets in 47 Twenty20 matches with best figures of 3-14
Kleinveldt also wrote himself into Northamptonshire history by helping the Steelbacks win the 2016 T20 Blast, 12 months after reaching the final of the same competition, and signed off in some style at the County Ground, too, taking three wickets in his first two overs against Middlesex.
He was awarded his County cap in 2016.
Speaking of his time at the Club, Kleinveldt said: “I can honestly say it’s been a great few years for me here. I’m leaving with some amazing memories and wish the lads all the best for the future.”
Head Coach David Ripley paid tribute to Kleinveldt and his contributions to the team over the past three years.
“Rory has been a strong character in the dressing room and has never taken a backward step,” he said. “He’s a fine competitor with bat or ball and I’ve really enjoyed having him around. He’s been great for me personally, great for the dressing room and it was great to see him sign off with 450 First Class wickets against Middlesex.
“You can’t look beyond Finals Day in 2016 and the ball that got Alex Hales out. I’ve seen him get 40 off eight balls to win a game at Worcester, and a nine-for at the County Ground against Notts in a big top-of-the-table County Championship clash.
“He’s been very good for us and I wish him well.”