Gary Ballance facts for kids
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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 31 August 2023
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gary Simon Ballance (born 22 November 1989) is a former cricket player who represented both England (from 2013 to 2017) and Zimbabwe (in 2023) in international matches. He is a left-handed batsman and a leg break bowler. He last played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Gary was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was known for his batting style, hitting the ball from deep in the crease. He was able to play for England because he lived there and got a British passport.
Gary had a very strong start to his Test cricket career. In his first ten Test matches, he scored 1,017 runs. His average was 67.93 runs per innings. This placed him among the top batsmen in history for scoring over 1,000 Test runs with such a high average. On 25 April 2015, he became the third fastest England Test cricketer to reach 1,000 runs. He achieved this during a match against the West Indies. However, his Test career later became less consistent. In his next 13 matches, he scored only 481 runs with an average of 19.04. This was a big change from his excellent start.
Gary first played in the Second XI Championship in 2006. Before that, he played five matches for Zimbabwe in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup. In that tournament, his team finished in sixth place. In his final match for the Under-19 team, Gary scored a half-century. This performance caught the eye of Derbyshire, and he signed with them in 2006. He played his first limited overs match two weeks later, after playing for the Derbyshire Second XI.
At the end of the 2007 season, Gary left Derbyshire to join the Yorkshire academy. He made his first international appearance for England on 3 September 2013. This was in a One Day International (ODI) against Ireland. In November 2014, he won the ICC Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year award. This was part of the 2014 ICC Awards. Gary was also named a Cricketer of the Year in the 2015 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
Later, following some challenges at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Gary admitted to using certain language. After this, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) suspended him from being chosen to play for England. In 2022, it was confirmed that Gary was able to play for Zimbabwe again. He signed a contract to play for them from 2022 onwards. He then retired from all professional cricket in 2023.
Early Life and Education
Gary Ballance was born and grew up in Zimbabwe. His parents were tobacco farmers. He lived in a village near Mutare, close to the border of Mozambique. The family's tobacco farm was later taken by the Government of Zimbabwe.
He started boarding school when he was five years old. Gary also played other sports like field hockey, tennis, and rugby union for Zimbabwe in different age groups. However, at age 13, he decided that his future would be in cricket. It is believed that Gary has British family roots through his grandparents. One of his grandparents served in the RAF during World War II. He is also distantly related to John Timms, a cricketer who played for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club from 1925 to 1949.
Gary attended Springvale House and Peterhouse Boys' School. After playing cricket for Zimbabwe at various youth levels, he moved to England in 2006. He went to Harrow School for two years. There, he played on the same team as Sam Northeast. While playing for Harrow, he scored a century against Eton College at Lord's. Gary is also related to former Zimbabwean cricket captain David Houghton. David's wife is Gary's father's cousin.
Gary married his wife, Alex, in December 2018. Alex is a speech and language therapist from Middlesbrough. Gary is colour blind, which means he sometimes finds it hard to see a pink cricket ball when he is batting.
Club Cricket Career
In 2006, Gary received a sports scholarship to Harrow. He then moved to Derbyshire as an overseas player. There, he shared a dressing room with his relative, Dave Houghton, though he didn't know they were related at the time. Gary signed with Derbyshire for the 2006 season. He played only for their second team. He made his List A debut for Derbyshire against West Indies A on 6 August 2006. This was during a tour match. He scored 48 runs, helping Derbyshire win by 30 runs. At the end of that season, a cricket publication called Wisden noted that he was seen as a "real prospect." In 2007, he again played only for the Derbyshire second team. He was their top run-scorer with 390 runs in 6 innings, including two centuries.
His talent was quickly noticed by Geoffrey Boycott. Boycott recommended that Gary and his parents join Yorkshire. Gary joined the Yorkshire Academy in 2008 after his two seasons at Derbyshire. He also attended Leeds Metropolitan University, where he studied a sports course for about a year. His academy contract with Yorkshire allowed him to start this university course. He made his first-class debut for Yorkshire against Kent on 11 July 2008. This was during the 2008 English cricket season at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury.
Since joining Yorkshire in 2008, Gary became close friends with fellow player Joe Root. He made his T20 debut for Yorkshire against Warwickshire County Cricket Club on 4 July 2010. This was during the 2010 Friends Provident T20 tournament.
During the English county off-season, Gary also played in Zimbabwe for Mid West Rhinos in the Logan Cup. This is where he first experienced being a captain. He played in the 2010–11 Logan Cup and 2011–12 Logan Cup before returning to England.
He became a regular player for the Yorkshire first team in 2011. His consistent performances led to him being considered for the England Lions squad. This was for a limited-overs tour of Australia in February 2013. Gary scored three half-centuries on this tour. He further showed his skill for selection into the England senior team. He hit centuries for England Lions against Australia and Bangladesh A in 2013.
He scored a record 1,251 runs in the 2013 County Championship. This helped him get his first call-up to the England Test team for the 2013-2014 Ashes series. Many in English cricket, including former captain Michael Vaughan, were excited about Gary in 2013. Vaughan supported Gary's inclusion in the England Test squad because of his great form for Yorkshire. Gary himself grew up admiring Michael Vaughan's batting style. He also considers Sachin Tendulkar as his cricket hero.
Gary missed most of the county matches for Yorkshire in the 2018 English cricket season due to personal reasons. However, he made up for lost time in the 2019 County Championship. He scored a lot of runs, totaling 975, including five centuries. His performances suggested he might be called back to the international team, but this did not happen. During the 2019 County Championship, he set a record. He became the first Yorkshire batsman to score hundreds in five matches in a row.
Gary missed the entire 2020 domestic season. This was due to various reasons, including feeling anxious and his wife testing positive for COVID-19. In September 2021, he agreed to extend his contract with Yorkshire for three more years. He then missed the start of the 2021 season after getting a concussion during practice.
In December 2022, Gary was released from his contract with Yorkshire two years early. This was on the condition that he would not play for another County Championship team in 2023. He had not played for Yorkshire's first team since the issues became public.
International Cricket Career
Playing for Zimbabwe Under-19
Gary played for the Zimbabwe national Under-19 team in the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was 16 years old and still a schoolboy at Peterhouse Boys School. He was a key player in Zimbabwe's famous upset win against England. Zimbabwe won by two wickets after bowling England out for 172 runs. Gary was excellent with both bat and ball. He took 3 wickets for 21 runs in four overs. He also top-scored with 47 runs, helping his team win a close match. For his all-round performance, he was named player of the match. He would later go on to play for England internationally.
Debut for England
After strong performances for Yorkshire and the England Lions, Gary Ballance made his debut for England. This was against Ireland in Dublin on 3 September 2013. However, he did not score any runs in this match.
2013–14 Ashes Series
Gary was chosen for the England squad for the 2013–14 Ashes series. He was picked to play in the 5th Test match instead of his Yorkshire teammate Joe Root. He became the 659th player to play for England. Captain Alastair Cook presented him with his cap. Gary was one of three players, along with Scott Borthwick and Boyd Rankin, to make their debuts in that 5th Test. He was seen as the best choice to bat at number 6 for England, a position that had been difficult for the team. In the first innings, he scored 18 runs. He helped England reach 155 runs after they were struggling at 17 runs for 4 wickets. Cricket commentator Geoffrey Boycott said that Gary was very unlucky to be out. In the second innings, he scored 7 runs, finishing the series with 25 runs.
Gary's next call-up was against Australia during England's tour. In the 1st ODI at the MCG, Gary was England's top scorer, making 79 runs from 96 balls. However, this was not enough for England to win, as Australia won by 6 wickets. Gary kept his place for the 2nd ODI but only scored 9 runs before being stumped. In the 3rd ODI, he batted at number 4 and made 26 runs. He stayed in the team for the 4th ODI and scored 18 runs. Gary was not selected for the 5th ODI; Joe Root took his place.
2014 Sri Lanka Series
Gary played in the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka. He was the top scorer with 64 runs in England's win. In the 2nd ODI, he only made 5 runs as England scored 99. He played in the 3rd ODI but was not needed to bat as England won by 10 wickets. Gary was also in the squad for both Test matches against Sri Lanka. He batted at number three, replacing Jonathan Trott. In the first Test at Lord's, he scored 27 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, he scored his first Test century, remaining not out on 104. He was one of four England players to score centuries in the series. Gary had mixed results in the second Test, scoring 74 in the first innings but getting out for zero runs in the second. He finished the series with 205 runs.
2014 India Series
In the first Test against India, Gary continued his good batting form by making 71 runs in the first innings. The match ended in a draw. Gary scored his second Test century on 18 July 2014 against India. He scored 110 runs before being caught out. This helped England recover after struggling at 113 runs for 4 wickets. Gary became only the third England player to score centuries in his first two Test matches at Lord's. The others were Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott.
Gary scored an impressive 156 runs in the first innings of the third Test. He was unlucky to be given out by a poor umpire decision. He was again unlucky in the second innings when, on 38 runs, he was given out caught when the ball only touched his trousers. In the fourth match of the series, he only batted once, making 37 runs as England won to lead the series 2–1. He scored 64 runs in the final Test to help England win the game and the series 3–1. Overall, Gary scored 503 runs at an average of 71.85 in this Test series. In the One Day International series against India, Gary played only in the fourth ODI, where he made seven runs. He proved himself as a strong choice for England's number 3 batting spot in Test matches. He was seen as a good replacement for Jonathan Trott during this important series against India.
2015 World Cup
In December 2015, Gary was surprisingly included in the England squad for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. This was despite his average performances in ODI cricket at the time. Before this recall, he had been left out of England's seven-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2014. However, he had a difficult World Cup tournament. His batting technique, especially his back-foot movement, seemed to be a weakness.
After recovering from an injury, Gary played in England's first World Cup game against Australia. He was dismissed for ten runs. He was out for ten again as England lost to New Zealand by eight wickets. He scored ten runs once more against Scotland. This led to suggestions that he would be dropped for the next game against Sri Lanka. However, he kept his place and was dismissed for six runs as England lost their third game. Gary was then dropped from the team and did not play any more matches in the tournament. England was eliminated at the Group stage. He, along with James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, and James Tredwell, were then focused on Test cricket.
2015 West Indies and New Zealand
Gary continued as the number 3 batsman during England's tour of the West Indies. In the first Test of the three-Test series, he scored ten runs in the first innings. He then scored a century in the second innings. In the second Test, he scored the winning runs. He also became the third fastest England cricketer to reach 1,000 career runs. Only Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton reached this milestone faster. In the third Test, he was less successful, scoring 18 and 23 runs. England lost the game by five wickets, and the series ended in a 1–1 draw.
Gary had a tough series against New Zealand. He scored one run in England's first innings of the first Test and was dismissed for zero runs in the second innings. Despite this, England won the game by 124 runs. His problems continued in the next Test. He was dismissed for 29 runs in England's first innings. In the second innings, he scored only six runs as England lost the game by 199 runs. The series ended in a 1–1 draw.
2015 Ashes Series
In the first Ashes Test, Gary scored 60 runs in the first innings. However, he scored zero runs in the second innings. England won the opening match comfortably by 169 runs. In the second Test, Gary was out for 23 runs in England's first innings. England was dismissed for 312 runs. In England's second innings, he was dismissed for just 14 runs. England was bowled out for only 103 runs and suffered a big 405-run defeat. After this game, Gary was dropped from the team. Jonny Bairstow took his place, and Gary did not play any more matches in the series. England went on to win the series 3–2.
2016 and 2017 Matches
Gary was called back to the team because Nick Compton was not playing well. Also, James Taylor had to retire. Gary returned for the Test series against Pakistan. He scored six runs in England's first innings. He made 43 runs in their second innings as England lost the first match by 75 runs. In the second Test, he batted only once, scoring 23 runs. England went on to win by 330 runs, leveling the series at 1–1. He scored 70 runs in the first innings of the third Test and 23 runs in the second innings. England won by 141 runs after strong bowling. Gary scored eight runs in England's first innings of the final Test. England was dismissed for 328 runs. England lost the game by 10 wickets, and the series ended in a 1–1 draw. Gary scored 17 runs in England's second innings.
In the first Test against Bangladesh, Gary only managed scores of 1 and 9 runs. However, England still won the game by 21 runs. In the second Test, Gary scored just 9 runs in England's total of 244. He again failed in the second innings, scoring 5 runs. England lost the match by 108 runs, and the series ended in a 1–1 draw.
On 6 July 2017, Gary was called back to play in the first Test against South Africa at Lord's. This was after his good form for Yorkshire. He was chosen based on Joe Root's recommendation. Gary played the first two Tests. However, a broken thumb kept him out of the next two matches. He showed his value and justified his selection. He had scored 815 runs with an average over 101.87 for Yorkshire during the summer of 2017.
Debut for Zimbabwe and Return to International Cricket
In December 2022, Gary signed a two-year agreement with Zimbabwe Cricket. This made him eligible to be chosen for the national team. He would also play in domestic competitions in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed that Gary had changed his national team. He would represent Zimbabwe from 2022 onwards. Gary's first senior match for Zimbabwe was against a touring Ireland team in January 2023. He made his full T20I debut for Zimbabwe on 12 January. He had never played a T20 International match for England. The series against Ireland marked his return to international cricket after his time away. He played his first ODI for Zimbabwe on 18 January.
On 4 February 2023, Gary played his first Test match for Zimbabwe. This was against the West Indies in Bulawayo. He had previously played 23 Tests for England. This made him the 17th cricketer to represent two different international teams in Test matches. He scored a century in the match. This made him only the second person to score a Test century for two different countries, after Kepler Wessels.
Retirement
In April 2023, Gary Ballance announced his retirement from all forms of professional cricket.
See also
- List of cricketers who have played for two international teams
