David Willey

David Jonathan Willey is an English cricketer, who represents Yorkshire in county cricket. He was born on 28 February 1990 in Northampton. Willey is a left-arm fast-medium bowler who mostly balls with the new ball.

Willey’s ability to swing with the new ball and the added advantage of being a left-arm seamer has seen him play in English colors quite regularly.

David Willey - Along the Years

David Willey Records

• Third player to win a ‘Player of the Match’ award in their final ODI game after Desmond Haynes and Irfan Pathan

David Willey Career

David Willey has had a career of ups and downs due to injuries and external factors. In spite of this, he has managed to achieve a great individual career.

David Willey Domestic Career

With the ability to swing the new ball and a good hand at the bat, David Willey got his first chance in county cricket when Northamptonshire signed him in 2009. He played against Leicestershire and scored 60 runs in the debut match. He scored his maiden First-Class century against Gloucestershire for Northamptonshire in April 2015.

Willey’s true abilities bestowed colors in the T20 cricket. He registered a bowling average of 11.30 in the 2009 T20 competition. With some indispensable contributions with the bat and 43 wickets with the ball, he aided his team to the title in the 2012 Friends Life T20 Championship. Willey joined Yorkshire for a three-year contract starting from the 2016 season.

Willey was signed by the Perth Scorchers for the 2015-16 season of the Big Bash League in Australia. With good performances at the back, he ensured his place for the next two seasons.

David Willey IPL Career

David Willey was signed as a replacement by the Chennai Super Kings for the injured Kedar Jadhav, who won the thriller of an opener against the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018. He left his county duties and played for CSK, making his IPL debut against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru) on May 5, 2018. Willey had played only 3 matches, picking up 2 wickets, and was part of the CSK squad that won the IPL 2018 in their comeback season.

Willey was retained by CSK for the 2019 IPL edition, but did not get to play a match and was released ahead of the IPL 2020 auction. He was bought by RCB in the IPL 2022 mega auction for his base price of INR 2 crores. He played a total of 8 matches for the franchise, picking up 4 wickets and scoring 53 runs, before being ruled out of IPL 2023 due to a toe injury. Coincidentally, he was replaced by Kedar Jadhav for the remainder of the tournament.

Willey was acquired by the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2024 auction for his base price of INR 2 crores, but he withdrew from the season due to personal reasons.

David Willey International Career

David Willey has had a decent international career and displayed his skillset with the limited range of opportunities that was presented to him, despite being sidelined for most of his career.

A useful limited overs cricketer, Willey leaks away runs when the ball is not swinging. This problem has resulted in his inconsistent form over the years. Injuries have also constricted his success at the international level.

David Willey ODI Career

David Willey made his ODI debut for England on 8 May 2015 against Ireland. He dismissed Andy Balbirnie as his first wicket in international cricket. However, the match was later abandoned due to rain.

He booked himself a place in the England squad for the series against New Zealand in June 2014. He played the final three games of the series and took seven wickets. Willey was leaking runs but at the same time, he was taking wickets which helped his team win the series 3-2.

Willey played in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and was named in the provisional squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Unfortunately, he had to pave the way for English pace sensation Jofra Archer and he was reeling from the exclusion. He made a comeback in the subsequent year against Ireland in July 2020 as he made a statement by bagging his maiden five-wicket haul.

Willey was included in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and had a chance to redeem himself. However, England’s devastating campaign and a central contract snub by the Engish Cricket Board made Willey take a tough call to retirement from all forms of international cricket after the culmination of the tournament. He had something to savor in his final game as he gave a pretty good all-round performance to triumph over Pakistan and also became the third player after Desmond Haynes and Irfan Pathan to bag the ‘Player of the Match’ award in his final ODI game.

David Willey T20I Career

David Willey made his T20I debut on June 23, 2015, where he ended up with figures of 3-22 to assist his team to victory.

Willey’s best days in international cricket were those spent during the 2016 World T20 in India. He took two wickets and added 57 runs with Moeen Ali for the eighth wicket to chase a target of 141 runs set by Afghanistan and an impressive display of bowling in the final against West Indies, returning with figures of 4-0-20-3, which eventually went in vain.

Willey was part of the ICC T20 World Cup squads in 2021 and 2022, including the one where England was crowned the champions in 2022, but he hardly featured in the playing XIs.

David Willey’s Family

David Willey’s father Peter Willey is a former English cricketer and international umpire. He is married to Carolynne Poole and they have a daughter named Heather Willey.

David Willey’s Net Worth

As of 2024, David Willey has an estimated net worth of INR 7 crores or USD 2 million.