Garry Ballance will no longer be part of England’s setup as long as he has signed a contract with Zimbabwe Cricket to okay domestic as well as international cricket for the next two years.
The development came after he was released from his contract with Yorkshire county, which was until 2024. But as a part of it, he will not represent any other county till 2024 and can only be part of the championship as an overseas player now.
Ballance, who was born in Zimbabwe, played U19 World Cup for the country in 2006 before moving to the United Kingdom. After grinding in hard yards, he then went on to represent England in 2013. The southpaw represented the side till 2017 but since then he didn’t get the chance.
Garry Ballance has signed contract to play Zimbabwe from now. He has born in Zimbabwe and now will play for the country he was born.
— 7Krish (@Krishne87528808) December 9, 2022
Ballance played 23 Tests for England and had a decent record in that. He amassed a total of 1498 runs at an average of 37.45 to go with 7 fifties and 4 hundreds. He also represented Three Lions in 16 ODIs, scoring 297 runs at an average and strike rate of 21.21 and 67.04 to go with two half-centuries.
Garry Balance expresses his delight in joint Zimbabwe cricket
After signing the contract with Zimbabwe Cricket, Garry Ballance expressed his delight in coming back to his home country. He said:
“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 new-found 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.”
Zimbabwe Cricket director of cricket, Hamilton Masakadza also expressed his happiness in having Garry Ballance as part of the setup. He said: “We are elated to have Gary, an immensely talented and experienced cricketer, back home where it all started for him. He is a great addition to our domestic and international set-up and we are looking forward to him making a massive difference for us.”
