 Ballance celebrates after scoring a century for Yorkshire in 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Simon Ballance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 November 1989 Harare, Zimbabwe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm leg break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National sides | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 659/121) | 3 January 2014 England v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 4 February 2023 Zimbabwe v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 228/153) | 3 September 2013 England v Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 25 March 2023 Zimbabwe v Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 48 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Only T20I (cap 72) | 12 January 2023 Zimbabwe v Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Derbyshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2021 | Yorkshire (squad no. 19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010/11–2011/12 | Mid West Rhinos | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022/23 | Southern Rocks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 31 August 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gary Simon Ballance (born 22 November 1989)[1] is a Zimbabwean former cricketer who represented England internationally from 2013 to 2017, and also represented Zimbabwe in 2023. He is a left-handed batsman and a leg break bowler, who last played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is known for his style of striking deep in the crease. He qualified to play for England through residency and British passports.
He had a promising start to his Test career. In his first ten Test matches, he scored 1017 runs in 17 innings at an average of 67.93,[2][3] putting him behind only Sir Donald Bradman in the list of batsmen with both 1000+ test runs and an average of above 60.[4] On 25 April 2015, Ballance became the third fastest England Test cricketer to reach 1,000 runs, a feat which he achieved during the second Test against West Indies. However, his test career failed to take off with inconsistent performances. His next 13 matches yielded two half-centuries and an aggregate of 481 runs at an average of 19.04, a sharp contrast to his first set of 10 test appearances.[5]
Ballance first played in the Second XI Championship in 2006, having made five appearances for Zimbabwe in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, in which the team finished in sixth place. In the final match for the team, Ballance scored a half-century, gaining notice from Derbyshire and earned the chance to sign for the team in 2006. He played his first limited overs match two weeks later, having performed in the Derbyshire Second XI.
At the end of the 2007 season, Ballance left Derbyshire to sign academy terms with Yorkshire. He made his England debut on 3 September 2013 in an ODI against Ireland. In November 2014, he won the ICC Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year during the 2014 ICC Awards.[6] Ballance was named a Cricketer of the Year in the 2015 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.[7][8]
Following an investigation into racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Ballance released a statement admitting that he was one of the players who had used racial slurs against fellow player Azeem Rafiq.[9] Following this announcement, he was suspended from selection by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).[10]
In 2022 it was confirmed that, having served a period of ineligibility, Ballance was eligible for selection by Zimbabwe, and had agreed a contract to do so from 2022 onwards before retiring in 2023.[11]
- ^ Warner, David (2011). The Yorkshire County Cricket Club: 2011 Yearbook (113th ed.). Ilkley, Yorkshire: Great Northern Books. p. 363. ISBN 978-1-905080-85-4.
- ^ Shrivastava, Shivaditya. "Gary Ballance's innings of Rediscovery". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ Rudling, Michael (3 August 2020). "What Have England Got Against Gary Ballance?". Wisden. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ Jai Bednall (27 April 2015). "English batsman Gary Ballance averages more than anyone outside Sir Don Bradman". news.com. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "Ballance back in the balance as familiar failings surface". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Johnson, Sangakkara lead ICC awards nominees". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Wisden includes Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance in its cricketers of the year | Cricket | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Wisden name five Cricketers of the Year for 2014". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ Rumsby, Ben; Hoult, Nick; Wilson, Jeremy (3 November 2021). "Former England star Gary Ballance outed as Yorkshire cricketer who racially abused Azeem Rafiq". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Gary Ballance suspended from England selection as part of Azeem Rafiq case | The Cricketer". Thecricketer.com.
- ^ "Ballance agrees deal to play for Zimbabwe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 December 2022.