Brad Wheal, a right-handed batsman and right-arm pace bowler, was born in Durban, South Africa but holds a British passport and moved to England with the encouragement of Hampshire's head coach at the time, Dale Benkenstein, who had spotted him playing for Natal Under-19.

He played four Championship matches in 2015, accounting for an England opener, Sam Robson, on his debut. A Scotland debut, at 19, followed in 2016, a year in which his experience was also developed with eight further Championship matches. It felt like a breakthrough season, not just for an exceptional last over in the televised T20 win against Sussex but also his six wickets against Notts at Trent Bridge and a 4 for 39 in the final Championship match against Durham with relegation staring Hampshire in the face.

But it proved to be something of a false dawn. After a quiet 2017, Wheal missed most of the 2018 season with a stress fracture in his spine, and his recovery kept him out for much of the following campaign.
ESPNcricinfo staff