Cricket has seen many successful sibling pairs do well. The mighty Waugh brothers (Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh) stand out. Not to be left behind are the Chappell brothers (Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, and Trevor Chappell) who dominated world cricket. The Marshalls (James Marshall and Hamish Marshall) from New Zealand were another popular sibling pair.
If we look at siblings closer home, then we have had the brothers from Baroda who faired well for India. Be it the sibling pair of Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan or the pair of Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya. But what is rare is to discover the fact that there have been few sibling pairs who have played for 2 different nations.
We at StumpsandBails will be looking at 3 such sibling pairs who played for different countries.
#3 Ed Joyce (England/ Ireland) and Dom Joyce (Ireland)
Edmund Christopher Joyce was a former Irish cricketer who played for both the Ireland and England national cricket teams. After qualifying to play for England, Ed Joyce was a member of the squad in the 2006–07 Ashes series and 2007 World Cup. But he soon fell out of favour with English selectors. Ed Joyce got special dispensation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to play for Ireland in the 2011 World Cup. He was one of the 11 players who got to play the historic Test match against Pakistan in 2018.
Also, Read | Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri Respond To PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ Speech
Dom Joyce made his ODI debut for Ireland against England on June 13, 2006. Interestingly, this was the same match where Ed made his debut for England. But Dom Joyce’s stint in the international cricket was short-lived as he represented Ireland in just 3 One Day Internationals scoring 29 runs at an average of 9.67.
#2 Darren Pattinson (England) and James Pattinson (Australia)
Darren Pattinson was a former England speedster who was born in Lincolnshire, England. He later shifted his base to Australia when he was just 6 years old. Darren Pattinson made his first-class debut for Victoria in 2007 but he chose to move back to England to continue his cricket career. He represented Nottinghamshire in the English domestic county completion. Darren Pattinson was selected in the England team and he made his Test debut in 2008 against South Africa bagging 2 wickets. Unfortunately that was the only match where he got to play for England.
On the other hand, Darren Pattinson’s younger (and arguably more popular) James Pattinson was born in Melbourne, Australia. He has represented the Aussies in 15 One Day Internationals and 4 T20Is scalping 16 and 3 wickets respectively. Pattinson has always been on the brink of Test selection. He has played 21 Tests for Australia and has grabbed 81 wickets.
#1 Frank Hearne (England/ South Africa) and George Hearne (GG Hearne)/ Alec Hearne (England)
Hearne brothers (Frank Hearne, Alec Hearne, and George Hearne) played first-class cricket between 1879 and 1904 for Kent County Cricket Club and Western Province. Frank Hearne was one of those selected cricketers who represented 2 nations. He first made his Test debut for England against South Africa in 1889 but later shifted base and ironically played his last Test for South Africa against England.
Also Read | IPL 2021: 5 Cricketers Who May Be Bought For A Lesser Price By The Same IPL Teams
Frank Hearne’s siblings (Alec Hearne and George Hearne) played for England throughout their careers. The duo had outstanding domestic records. Alec Hearne notched up more than 16,000 runs in 488 first-class games and picked up 1160 wickets. While, George Hearne, on the other hand, scored more than 9000 runs and picked up 686 wickets in 328 first-class matches.