Wayne Parnell Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Wayne Parnell is a South African professional cricketer who has represented his country in all 3 formats of the sport (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is), as a bowling all-rounder. In the South African domestic circuit, he has played for Eastern Province (2006-07–2010-11), Warriors (2008-09–2014-15), Cape Cobras (2015-16–2017-18), and Western Province (2021–22-Present) across all 3 formats. A handy all-rounder, he has been featured in franchise-based T20 leagues around the world, turning out for Pune Warriors (2011–2013) and Delhi Daredevils (2014) in the IPL (Indian Premier League); Barbados Tridents (2016–2017)  in the CPL (Caribbean Premier League); Sylhet Sixers (2019) in the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League); and Islamabad United (2019) and Karachi Kings in the PSL (Pakistan Super League). Wayne has played domestic cricket outside of his home country representing teams such as Kent County Cricket Club (2009, 2017), Sussex County Cricket Club (2011), Glamorgan County Cricket Club (2015), Worcestershire County Cricket Club (2018–2020), and Northamptonshire County Cricket Club (2021) in England. He has also played for Northern Superchargers (2022) in The Hundred, a professional franchise 100-ball cricket tournament that was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as a new format of cricket that was played for the first time in July and August 2021.

Born Name

Wayne Dillon Parnell

Nick Name

Pigeon, Parny

Sun Sign

Leo

Born Place

Gqeberha, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Residence

South Africa

Nationality

Education

Wayne had attended Grey High School, a semi-private school (grades 8-12) for boys in the suburb of Mill Park in Gqeberha (then known as Port Elizabeth). It is one of the top sporting schools in South Africa and also among its oldest educational institutions.

After his high school graduation in 2007, he joined the Nelson Mandela University (then known as the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University), also in Gqeberha. He studied human resource management there.

Occupation

Professional Cricketer

Batting

Left-Handed

Bowling

Left-Arm Fast-Medium

Role

Bowling All-Rounder

Jersey Number

• 7, 36 – One Day International (ODI), T20 International (T20I)
• 7 – Cape Cobras (South African Domestic Cricket)
• 36 – Kent County Cricket Club (English Domestic Cricket)

Build

Athletic

Height

6 ft 2 in or 188 cm

Weight

78 kg or 172 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Wayne has dated –

1. Aisha Baker (2016-Present) – Wayne got married to South African fashion blogger and entrepreneur Aisha Baker in May 2016. They have 2 children together – a son named Khalid (b. May 2018) and a daughter named Salma (b. July 2021).

Race / Ethnicity

Multiracial

Hair Color

Dark Brown

Eye Color

Light Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Toned physique
• Side-cropped, curly hair
• Affable smile
• Sports a thick beard

Religion

Islam

Wayne Parnell Facts

1. Wayne came into the spotlight during the 2006-07 season of domestic cricket in South Africa. He made his first-class cricket debut for Eastern Province in October 2006, aged just 17. In just his second first-class match, he recorded sensational bowling figures of 4/7.
2. In just his fifth first-class match, a game against Western Province, he recorded a hat-trick (the feat of dismissing 3 batsmen off 3 successive legal deliveries). All three batsmen involved in the hat-trick were bowled.
3. In 2008, he was presented with the ‘Under-19 Cricketer of the Year’ award by CSA (Cricket South Africa, the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa).
4. He was the captain of the South African squad that had reached the final of the 2008 Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 18 scalps to his name. In South Africa’s quarter-final match, against Bangladesh, he produced one of the greatest performances in the history of the tournament; recording sensational bowling figures of 6/8 as well as top-scoring in the match with 57 runs.
5. In January 2009, on his senior international debut for South Africa, in a T20I match against Australia, he put down a crucial catch. It was later suggested that this was caused by a green laser light beamed into his eyes by a member of the crowd.
6. In 2009, Wayne was signed as an overseas player by Kent County Cricket Club. On his first-class debut in England, in a game against Essex County Cricket Club, he produced bowling figures of 4/78 in the first innings and then top-scored with 69 runs in the second. This was also his maiden first-class fifty.
7. In the 2009 edition of the ICC (International Cricket Council) World T20, he took 9 wickets at a stellar average of 13.22 runs conceded per wicket taken, as South Africa reached the semi-final of the tournament. He was included in the ‘Team of the Tournament’ by ESPN Cricinfo.
8. Later that year, in the 2009 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, he was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 11 wickets to his name in just 3 matches. Despite his tremendous performance with the ball, tournament host South Africa crashed out in the group stage.
9. In January 2011, he converted to Islam after a period of personal study. He briefly considered changing his name to ‘Waleed’ (meaning ‘Newborn Son’) but did not do so officially. Although, thereafter, his name has often been cited publicly, particularly on his social media accounts, as Waleed Wayne Parnell or Wayne Waleed Parnell.
10. In 2012, while representing Pune Warriors in the IPL, he was one of the 90 people detained by local police authorities after a rave party he was attending in a Mumbai suburb was raided. He then appeared in court and was bailed on drug-related charges.
11. In September 2018, with an international career for South Africa that was almost a decade old, Wayne signed a ‘Kolpak’ deal with Worcestershire County Cricket Club. This made him ineligible to represent South Africa in international cricket until the deal expired.
12. The ‘Kolpak’ ruling is a landmark judgment of the European Court of Justice that was handed down in May 2003 in favor of Maroš Kolpak, a Slovak handball player. It declared that citizens of countries that have signed ‘European Union (EU) Association Agreements’ have the same right to freedom of work and movement within the EU as citizens of the EU.
13. This meant that any restrictions such as limits on the number of foreign players in sports teams were deemed illegal under EU law. The ruling had a wide-ranging effect on European professional sports and English county cricket saw an influx of South African players. This was partly because the much weaker currency of South Africa meant that cricketers could earn much more while playing domestic cricket in England than they would by playing international cricket for South Africa.
14. When the UK withdrew from the EU in 2020 (the event popularly known as ‘Brexit’), the aforementioned ‘Kolpak’ ruling ceased to have any effect on sports leagues in the UK. This forced several cricketers, mostly South Africans, to return to their homelands and seek re-integration with the domestic cricket scene there.
    
15. Wayne, too, was among them and was welcomed back by Cricket South Africa. He was included in a South African senior national squad for the first time (after his ‘Kolpak’ stint) in November 2021.

Featured Image by Wayne Parnell / Instagram