Gary Ballance facts for kids
Ballance celebrates after scoring a century for Yorkshire in 2014
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name |
Gary Simon Ballance
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| Born | 22 November 1989 Harare, Zimbabwe |
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| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm leg break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National sides |
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| Test debut (cap 659/121) | 3 January 2014 England v Australia |
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| Last Test | 4 February 2023 Zimbabwe v West Indies |
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| ODI debut (cap 228/153) | 3 September 2013 England v Ireland |
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| Last ODI | 25 March 2023 Zimbabwe v Netherlands |
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| ODI shirt no. | 48 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Only T20I (cap 72) | 12 January 2023 Zimbabwe v Ireland |
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| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 31 August 2023
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Gary Simon Ballance (born 22 November 1989) is a former cricketer. He played for England from 2013 to 2017. Later, he also played for Zimbabwe in 2023. Gary is a left-handed batsman. He also bowls leg break with his right arm. He was born in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Gary had a great start to his Test career. In his first ten Test matches, he scored over 1,000 runs. This put him among the top batsmen in history for a strong start. On 25 April 2015, he became the third fastest England Test cricketer to reach 1,000 runs. He achieved this during a match against West Indies.
Gary first played in the Second XI Championship in 2006. Before that, he played for Zimbabwe in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup. He scored a half-century in the final match. This caught the eye of Derbyshire, and he signed with them in 2006.
In 2007, Gary left Derbyshire to join the Yorkshire Academy. He made his England debut on 3 September 2013. This was in a One Day International (ODI) match against Ireland. In November 2014, he won the ICC Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year award. He was also named a Cricketer of the Year in 2015.
Following an investigation at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Gary admitted to using inappropriate language. He apologized for this. After his apology, he was temporarily stopped from playing for England. In 2022, it was confirmed that Gary could play for Zimbabwe. He signed a contract with them and played in 2023 before retiring.
Contents
About Gary's Life
Gary Ballance was born and grew up in Zimbabwe. His parents were tobacco farmers. He went to Springvale House and Peterhouse Boys' School. After playing cricket for Zimbabwe at different age levels, he moved to England in 2006. He studied at Harrow School for two years. There, he played in the same team as Sam Northeast. While at Harrow, he scored a century against Eton College at Lord's.
Gary is 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. He is also colour blind. This means he sometimes finds it hard to see a pink ball when he is batting.
Playing for Clubs
In 2006, Gary received a sports scholarship to Harrow School. He then joined Derbyshire as an overseas player. He played only for their second team. He made his first limited overs match debut for Derbyshire on 6 August 2006. He scored 48 runs in that match. At the end of 2007, he was seen as a "real prospect" in cricket.
Gary's talent was noticed by Geoffrey Boycott. He suggested Gary join Yorkshire. Gary joined the Yorkshire Academy in 2008. He made his first-class debut for Yorkshire on 11 July 2008. This was against Kent. He became good friends with Joe Root after joining Yorkshire.
During the English county off-season, Gary played for Mid West Rhinos in Zimbabwe. He even got to be captain there. He played in the 2010–11 Logan Cup and 2011–12 Logan Cup.
Gary became a regular player for Yorkshire in 2011. His strong performances helped him get selected for the England Lions team in 2013. He scored three half-centuries during a tour of Australia. He continued to impress by scoring centuries for England Lions. This helped him get called up to the England senior team.
In 2013, he scored 1251 runs in the 2013 County Championship. This led to his first Test call-up for England. Many people, including former English captain Michael Vaughan, thought Gary should play for England. Gary grew up admiring Michael Vaughan's batting style. He also looks up to Sachin Tendulkar.
Gary missed most of the 2018 county matches for personal reasons. In 2019, he scored 975 runs, including five centuries. He became the first Yorkshire batsman to score hundreds in five matches in a row.
In 2021, Gary signed a new contract with Yorkshire. However, he later missed games due to a head injury. In November 2021, it was announced that Gary had used inappropriate language towards another player, Azeem Rafiq. He was suspended from playing for England. Gary apologized to Azeem. He did not play for Yorkshire's first team in 2022. In December 2022, he left Yorkshire.
Playing for His Country
Playing for Zimbabwe Under-19
Gary played for Zimbabwe's national Under-19 team in the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was only 16 years old. He helped Zimbabwe win against England in a big upset. Gary took 3 wickets and scored 47 runs. He was named player of the match. Later, he would play for England's national team.
Playing for England
After playing well for Yorkshire, Gary Ballance made his debut for England. This was against Ireland on 3 September 2013. He did not score any runs in that match.
2013–14 Ashes Series
Gary was chosen for the England team for the 2013–14 Ashes series. He played in the 5th Test match. He became the 659th player to play for England. He scored 18 runs in the first innings and 7 runs in the second. Later, in a One Day International against Australia, he scored 79 runs.
2014 Sri Lanka Series
Gary played in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. He scored 64 runs, helping England win. In his second Test match, he scored his first Test hundred. He ended up with 104 runs not out. He was one of four players to score a century for England in that series.
2014 India Series
Gary continued his good batting form against India. He scored 71 runs in the first Test. He then hit his second Test hundred, scoring 110 runs. He was only the third England player to score hundreds in his first two Test matches at Lord's. In the third Test, he scored an impressive 156 runs. Overall, Gary scored 503 runs in the Test series. This helped England win the series 3–1.
2015 World Cup
Gary played in England's first game of the World Cup against Australia. He scored 10 runs. He scored 10 runs again against New Zealand and Scotland. He was then dropped from the team. England was eliminated early from the tournament.
2015 West Indies and New Zealand
Gary continued as the number 3 batsman for England. In the first Test against West Indies, he scored a century in the second innings. He became the third fastest England cricketer to reach 1,000 career runs. In the next series against New Zealand, Gary had a tough time. He scored only 1 run in the first Test and 29 runs in the second.
2015 Ashes Series
In the first Ashes Test, Gary scored 60 runs. But he scored no runs in the second innings. England won that match. In the second Test, he scored 23 runs and then 14 runs. England lost badly. After this game, Gary was dropped from the team. England went on to win the series 3–2.
2016 and 2017
Gary was called back to the England team for the Test series against Pakistan. He scored 43 runs in the second innings of the first match. In the third Test, he scored 70 runs. In 2017, Gary was recalled to play against South Africa. He played in the first two Tests before a broken thumb stopped him from playing more.
Playing for Zimbabwe Again
In December 2022, Gary signed a two-year deal with Zimbabwe Cricket. This meant he could play for Zimbabwe's national team again. He made his T20 International debut for Zimbabwe on 12 January 2023. 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. He had played 23 Tests for England before this. This made him the 17th cricketer to play for two different international teams in Tests. He scored a century in the match. This made him only the second person ever to score a Test century for two different countries.
Retirement
In April 2023, Gary Ballance announced his retirement from all professional cricket.
See also
- List of cricketers who have played for two international teams
