Gary Ballance Sign 2-year contract with Zimbabwe Cricket
After making his debut in 2013, he later played 39 times for England, but he hasn’t played since 2017.
The Zimbabwe cricket board announced on Friday that former England batsman Gary Ballance had signed a two-year contract to represent Zimbabwe in international matches, a day after he was freed from his contract with English county team Yorkshire.
The Zimbabwean-born athlete, who acknowledged hurling racial slurs towards former club teammate Azeem Rafiq, has been sidelined for a year. Before this, he dealt with mental health concerns.
Ballance played 23 tests for England between 2014 and 2017. Scoring 1,498 runs, including four hundred, at an average of 37.45. He will also play local cricket in Zimbabwe. He also participated in 16 international one-day matches.
Gary Ballance Comments
After announcing the news Grey Ballance stated his feeling on joining the Zimbabwe national team, He quoted saying “I’m thrilled to be joining Zimbabwe Cricket and can’t wait to start work with some great coaches and talented players, the opportunity to represent Zimbabwe has given me a newfound passion and excitement for the game. I have kept in touch with a number of people within Zimbabwe cricket over the years and it has been great to watch their recent progress especially.”
Playing Career of Gary Ballance
After making his England debut in 2013, he went on to represent the country 39 times. But he hasn’t played since 2017. Which has left a window of opportunity for a comeback to international cricket with his birth country.
Ballance was born in Zimbabwe and attended school in England before returning back. But the interesting fact is that he had already represented Zimbabwe at the 2006 Under-19 World Cup. Ballance hasn’t played first-team cricket since September 2021. So this will be a good opportunity for Ballance to play cricket for Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Cricket Director’s Comments
Hamilton Masakadza, the director of cricket for Zimbabwe Cricket, said the team was happy to welcome back an “immensely skilled and experienced cricketer.”
He finished off by saying “He’s a great addition to our domestic and international set-up and we are looking forward to him making a massive difference for us.”
Gary Ballance has signed a two-year contract With Zimbabwe Cricket
The 33-year-old had a contract with Yorkshire that ran through 2024, but he requested to be let off of it. He has committed to refrain from playing for another County Championship team in 2023. But given that he signed to represent Zimbabwe as a local, he is now only eligible to play county cricket as an outsider.
