Rickelton Update
The last time I wrote about Ryan Rickelton, there was an uproar over his ankle
The last time Ryan Rickelton was in the UK, his ankle was giving him problems. At first, he had assumed it was a niggle. Then the swelling came and he had to take painkillers. A scan later revealed that Rickelton's anterior talofibular ligament or ATFL was torn and there was a bone spur on his heel pushing on his Achilles.
A specialist advised him that an operation was the best course of action. But, there was an upcoming tour to Australia, and Rickelton did not want to miss out on that. Was there a way to postpone the surgery? Rickelton was told he could buy time, about six months, with Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and cortisone injections.
Rickelton received three sets of PRP injections. The injections improved the muscles, ligament and tendons, and accelerated healing around the ankle. The cortisone shots took care of inflammations and provided pain relief.
In mid-November 2022, Ryan Rickelton was in pain. Not from the ankle, the injections were working. The pain was from not being picked for the tour to Australia. The selectors cited his ankle as the reason he was not picked. Rickelton was disappointed. He also felt betrayed. If the selectors had told him that his ankle ruled him out earlier, Rickelton would have gone for surgery in September or October.
South African cricket fans also felt betrayed. One of the top performers in domestic cricket was being overlooked. Rickelton was scoring runs by the bucket load and keeping wicket with no problems. He collected Player of the Match awards and closed the season as the leading run-scorer in the CSA One Day Cup with 452 runs at an average of 64.57. In three first-class innings, Rickelton scored 365 runs at an average of 121.66.
Overnight, Rickelton’s ankle became the most talked about body part in cricket. No other body part has dominated cricket discourse this much since Mark Boucher's eye in 2012. Rickelton's ankle was so big a talking point so much I had to do an article on it.
Just a reminder that Stumped! is a reader-supported newsletter, and I’d love and appreciate your support. So, consider leaving a tip or supporting monthly on Patreon.
Two days after picking a handful of awards at the CSA awards ceremony, and three months and 18 days after his ankle operation, Ryan Rickelton was on the plane back to England for the English summer of cricket. He went under the knife on the 22nd of March. “The most difficult part was the first four weeks when I couldn’t move around a lot,” says Rickelton.
Rickelton likes to be on the move, and spending his day on the couch, foot in a cast was not ideal. “I do not like being immobile,” says Rickelton. He gets restless.
As a youngster, he fell into weightlifting because of his desire to always be on the move and doing something. When he isn’t doing something, he explores. Bored and looking for something to do, the then-eight-year-old stumbled into the strength and conditioning centre at St. Stithians. Six years later, he would break the Gauteng Under-14 weightlifting record.
Living with the cast for four weeks was the hardest thing he had had to do in a while. After four weeks with a cast, Rickelton spent four weeks of limited movement with his foot in a boot. He could now put a little weight on his foot. Those four weeks were followed by two weeks of his foot in a cast. On the 13th week after his operation, Rickelton took his first run. Not for the first time, Rickelton was back in action a little sooner than what the doctor had estimated.
In 2011, Rickelton suffered an injury while trying to hit a spinner over extra cover, “As I made the shot, my foot got stuck and I twisted my knee, and my patella shot out. I was in so much excruciating pain that I'll never forget that," says Rickelton.
The injury was supposed to keep him out for up to 4 months, he was back playing in 2 months. A year later his knee caved while playing rugby for St. Stithians. A long time on the sidelines would have meant that he would miss out on the Under-19 tours. He was back playing in 4 months.
“But, I tried to not overdo things. I saw the physio everyday to make sure there was not damage,” says Rickelton.
In June, Rickelton joined the Proteas at a cohesion camp in Zimbali. “It felt like I was way behind everyone. It was as if I was starting cricket again.”
Not only did he re-learn the basics, he took the opportunity to correct areas he feels let him down last season. He did a lot of work on his spin play and adjusted his technique to allow himself more boundary options. Rickelton also worked on expanding his scoring areas against pace. “Last season there were moments when I was heavy on the front foot, I needed to work on that. Also worked on getting myself into good batting positions,” says Rickelton.
In 2022, Rickelton scored 539 in eight County cricket innings for Northamptonshire, with four half-centuries and two centuries for an average of 77 at a strike rate of 61.52. In 2023, he joins Yorkshire and hopes he can replicate and improve on his form. Hopefully, he will perform well enough to ink his name on the list of players travelling to India for the ODI World Cup later in the year.
If you found this interesting, please share it:
You can support Stumped! by leaving a tip:
Thanks for reading. Until next time… - CS
