Quick Answer
Riley Meredith is an Australian fast bowler who plays for Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes, known as one of the quickest bowlers in the country, regularly touching speeds above 145 km per hour. He has taken 9 T20I wickets and 1 ODI wicket for Australia, and across his Big Bash League career specifically, he has claimed 90 wickets from 80 matches for Hobart Hurricanes, including a starring role in the club’s maiden BBL title in 2024-25. He has also carried his pace overseas, playing IPL cricket for Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians, and finishing as the leading wicket-taker in England’s entire T20 Blast competition in 2025.
His career has been built on raw, genuine speed, but it has also been shaped by a long running battle with injuries, the kind of story common to fast bowlers who bowl as quickly as he does. This article covers his full biography and every major number from his career, including a specific look at his BBL record. You can follow all the latest cricket news and player coverage on CRIC INFO 365.
Riley Meredith: Full Biography at a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Riley Patrick Meredith (Riley Meredith) |
| Born | 21 June 1996, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Age | 30 |
| Height and Weight | Not publicly confirmed |
| Batting Style | Right-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm fast |
| Playing Role | Bowler |
| Family | Father Morgan Meredith; brother Daniel Meredith |
| T20I Debut | 3 March 2021, vs New Zealand (cap 97) |
| ODI Debut | 22 July 2021, vs West Indies (cap 234) |
Teams Riley Meredith Has Played For
| Team | Format / League | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Tasmania | First-Class / List A | 2017/18 to present |
| Hobart Hurricanes | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2017/18 to present |
| Punjab Kings | Indian Premier League (IPL) | 2021 |
| Mumbai Indians | Indian Premier League (IPL) | 2022 to 2023 |
| London Spirit | The Hundred (England) | 2022 |
| Somerset | County cricket / T20 Blast (England) | 2024 to 2026 |
| Islamabad United | Pakistan Super League (PSL) | 2025 |
| Welsh Fire | The Hundred (England) | 2025 |
| Hyderabad Kingsmen | Franchise T20 | 2026 |
| Australia | ODI, T20I | 2021 to present |
Riley Meredith was born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania, and has been part of the Tasmanian domestic set up since 2017, becoming what Cricket Tasmania describes as the ace of the state’s pace bowling attack.
Who Is Riley Meredith and How Did His Career Start?
Riley Patrick Meredith (Riley Meredith) was born on 21 June 1996 in Hobart, Tasmania. He bowls right-arm fast, capable of pushing the speed gun above 150 km per hour, and bats right-handed as a genuine tailender.
He was not the most hyped junior cricketer in the country, but according to FanCode’s profile of his rise, his natural ability to bowl fast set him apart early, and that speed became his calling card as he worked through Tasmania’s domestic pathways. He made his List A debut for Cricket Australia XI against Pakistan in January 2017, and his First-Class debut followed in November that year, for Tasmania against Victoria at the MCG.
His BBL career began on 1 February 2018, for Hobart Hurricanes, and he played a semi final and final in that very first season, sharing the new ball with fellow quick Jofra Archer. Later that year, he broke through properly in the 2018-19 Sheffield Shield season, taking 27 wickets for Tasmania, backed up by 9 more in the JLT One-Day Cup, alongside 16 wickets in that BBL season, cementing him as one of the country’s most exciting young pace bowlers.
How Did Riley Meredith Build His Reputation as a Genuine Pace Threat?
Riley Meredith’s raw speed made him must watch cricket almost immediately. According to Cricket Tasmania’s own profile, he quickly became terrifying to face at the crease, intimidating batters with his bounce and hostility as much as his outright pace.
In the 2019-20 season, he took five wickets on a flat pitch in a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales, including the wicket of Steve Smith, a genuine statement performance against one of the best batters in the world. His BBL form continued to build too, with 16 wickets in BBL|10 at a strike rate of 18.88, including a standout 3 for 21 against Melbourne Renegades, part of a trio of quicks alongside Nathan Ellis and Scott Boland that made Hobart Hurricanes a genuinely difficult side to face.
His first Australian call up came in September 2020, for a limited overs tour of England, though he did not get the chance to debut on that trip. His actual international debut came several months later.
How Did Riley Meredith Make His International Debut?
Meredith made his T20I debut on 3 March 2021 against New Zealand, and picked up the wicket of Kane Williamson in that series, a prize scalp for any young fast bowler’s first taste of international cricket. His ODI debut followed on 22 July 2021, against West Indies.
His rise into franchise cricket happened almost immediately alongside his international breakthrough. In February 2021, Punjab Kings signed him for INR 8 crore in the IPL mini auction, and he made his IPL debut on 12 April 2021 against Rajasthan Royals, taking figures of 1 for 49. After being released by Punjab Kings, he was picked up by Mumbai Indians in the 2022 auction, and returned to the franchise again in 2023 as an injury replacement for Jhye Richardson.
What Has Riley Meredith’s Recent Career Looked Like?
The past two seasons have arguably been the best sustained stretch of his career. His best individual BBL season came in 2022-23, with 21 wickets from 14 matches, before an even bigger moment arrived in 2024-25, when he finished as Hobart Hurricanes’ leading wicket-taker during their maiden BBL title winning campaign, claiming figures of 3 for 27 in the final itself.
Off the back of that form, he joined Islamabad United for a stint in the Pakistan Super League, continuing to impress with his pace and adaptability in yet another major T20 league. He then returned to Somerset for the 2025 Vitality Blast, and produced what is described by FanCode’s career overview as the finest T20 bowling campaign of his career, finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the entire competition with 28 wickets, as Somerset went on to win the title. Somerset moved quickly to secure his return for the 2026 season on the back of that performance.
What Injuries Has Riley Meredith Dealt With?
This is a genuine and recurring theme throughout his career, and it is worth being upfront about it. As is common for fast bowlers who bowl as quickly and aggressively as Meredith does, injuries have interrupted his career at multiple points, including a spell during BBL|09 where he was ruled out after playing six games despite peaking in form. A 2022 signing with London Spirit for The Hundred also ended before it began, when an untimely injury ruled him out and he was replaced without making an appearance for the club.
According to ESPNcricinfo’s assessment of his career, the raw talent has never been in question, only the durability, and a sustained injury free run is generally seen as the key factor that could see him challenge for a more settled place in a competitive Australian pace attack.
What Records and Honours Does Riley Meredith Hold?
- Leading wicket-taker for Hobart Hurricanes during their maiden BBL title winning season in 2024-25, taking 3 for 27 in the final
- Leading wicket-taker in the entire 2025 Vitality Blast, with 28 wickets, as Somerset won the title
- 90 wickets from 80 BBL matches for Hobart Hurricanes, making him one of the club’s most prolific pace bowlers
- Signed by two different IPL franchises, Punjab Kings in 2021 and Mumbai Indians from 2022 to 2023
- Took the wicket of Steve Smith in a Sheffield Shield match on a flat pitch, and dismissed Kane Williamson during his own T20I debut series
- 27 wickets in a single Sheffield Shield season, during his 2018-19 breakout campaign for Tasmania
What Do Riley Meredith’s Full Career Numbers Look Like?
The figures below are taken from his most recent official career statistics across every format.
Bowling Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wickets | Best Bowling | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 4w / 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T20I | 6 | 6 | 22.5 | 9 | 3/48 | 24.67 | 9.72 | 15.2 | 0 / 0 |
| ODI | 3 | 3 | 18.0 | 1 | 1/50 | 127.00 | 7.06 | 108.00 | 0 / 0 |
| First-Class (FC) | 40 | 71 | 1,132.3 | 135 | 5/96 | 29.30 | 3.49 | 50.3 | 6 / 2 |
| List A | 43 | 43 | 359.0 | 60 | 5/26 | 31.98 | 5.35 | 35.90 | 2 / 1 |
| IPL | 18 | 18 | 64.4 | 19 | 2/24 | 32.21 | 9.46 | 20.42 | 0 / 0 |
| Domestic T20 (Inc. BBL/Blast) | 155 | 155 | 559.5 | 210 | 4/12 | 22.78 | 8.54 | 16.00 | 4 / 0 |
Batting and Fielding Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Not Outs | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Balls Faced | Strike Rate | Catches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T20I | 6 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2* | – | 4 | 50.00 | 1 |
| First-Class (FC) | 40 | 58 | 33 | 270 | 44 | 10.80 | 793 | 34.05 | 11 |
| List A | 43 | 21 | 11 | 69 | 16 | 6.90 | 114 | 60.53 | 17 |
| IPL | 18 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0* | – | 3 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Domestic T20 | 155 | 30 | 17 | 78 | – | 6.00 | 97 | – | – |
Meredith’s 210 combined domestic T20 wickets from 155 matches confirm his standing as one of the most prolific white ball fast bowlers to come out of Tasmania, and his batting numbers make clear he is picked purely for his bowling, rarely required to contribute significant runs.
What Does Riley Meredith’s BBL Record Look Like Separately?
The Domestic T20 (Inc. BBL/Blast) row in the full stats table combines his Big Bash League career with his English T20 Blast appearances for Somerset. Here is his BBL only bowling record, based on the most detailed breakdown available from AdvanceCricket’s BBL tracking.
| Format | Matches | Innings | Overs | Wickets | Best Bowling | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 4w / 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBL | 77 | 77 | ~280.2 | 103 | Not separately confirmed | 21.99 | ~8.08 | 16.33 | – / 0 |
A few honest notes on this table. Matches, wickets, average, and strike rate come directly from that tracker. Overs and economy are calculated from the balls bowled and runs conceded figures in the same source, so treat them as derived rather than independently confirmed. His best bowling figure specifically for BBL cricket was not confirmed in the sources checked, though a 3 for 21 against Melbourne Renegades during BBL|10 is one of his known standout spells. The tracker does confirm zero five wicket hauls in his BBL career, which is expected given how rare that feat is in T20 cricket.
It is also worth flagging that a separate, more recent profile put his BBL tally at 80 matches and 90 wickets, a different total to the 77 matches and 103 wickets shown above. The gap likely comes down to different snapshot dates or slightly different counting methods between trackers, since neither source is the single official BBL statistics page. For the most accurate, fully current BBL numbers, his live profile on ESPNcricinfo is the best place to check.
His BBL batting and fielding contribution, by contrast, is straightforward to summarise, he has never scored a century or a half-century in any T20 cricket, BBL included, since his official record shows zero of each across his entire domestic T20 career. He remains a genuine tailender, picked for his bowling rather than his batting.
FAQs
Has Riley Meredith played international cricket for Australia?
Yes. He has played 6 T20Is and 3 ODIs for Australia, debuting in both formats in 2021, and picked up the wicket of Kane Williamson during his T20I debut series.
What is Riley Meredith’s BBL record?
90 wickets from 80 matches for Hobart Hurricanes, including a leading role in the club’s maiden BBL title in the 2024-25 season.
What is Riley Meredith’s height and weight?
This has not been publicly confirmed in the sources available at the time of writing.
Which IPL teams has Riley Meredith played for?
Punjab Kings in 2021, followed by Mumbai Indians from 2022 to 2023, including a stint as an injury replacement for Jhye Richardson.
How fast does Riley Meredith bowl?
He regularly touches speeds above 145 km per hour, and has been recorded bowling close to 150 km per hour on multiple occasions, making him one of the fastest bowlers in Australian domestic cricket.
What was Riley Meredith’s best T20 season outside the BBL?
The 2025 Vitality Blast for Somerset, where he finished as the leading wicket-taker in the entire competition with 28 wickets, helping the county win the title.
Has injury been a factor in Riley Meredith’s career?
Yes, injuries have interrupted his career at several points, including spells that cut short strong BBL seasons and a Hundred contract with London Spirit that ended before he could make an appearance.
This coverage is brought to you by CRIC INFO 365 — built to give cricket fans fast, reliable live scorecards, match reports, and analysis for every Test, ODI, and T20 as it happens.
