Gary Ballance

Gary Simon Ballance (born 22 November 1989) is a Zimbabwean cricketer who also represented England internationally until 2017, and represents Zimbabwe from 2022 onwards. He is a left-handed batsman and a leg break bowler, who last played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He was born in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Ballance first played in the Second XI Championship in 2006, having made five appearances for Zimbabwe in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, in which the team finished in sixth place. In the final match for the team, Ballance scored a half-century, gaining notice from Derbyshire and earned the chance to sign for the team in 2006. He played his first limited overs match two weeks later, having performed in the Derbyshire Second XI.

At the end of the 2007 season, Ballance left Derbyshire to sign academy terms with Yorkshire. He made his first-class debut for Yorkshire against Kent at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, in July 2008. In the first-class match against Durham MCC University in April 2011, Ballance scored 72 and 73 not out. He made his England debut on 3 September 2013 in an ODI against Ireland. On 25 April 2015 Ballance became the third fastest England Test cricketer to reach 1,000 runs, in the second Test against West Indies. Ballance was named a Cricketer of the Year in the 2015 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Following an investigation into racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Ballance released a statement admitting that he was one of the players who had used racial slurs against fellow player Azeem Rafiq. Following this announcement, he was suspended from selection by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

In 2022 it was confirmed that, having served a period of ineligibility, Ballance was eligible for selection by Zimbabwe, and had agreed a contract to do so from 2022 onwards.

Early and personal life

Ballance was born and raised in Zimbabwe, where his parents were tobacco farmers. He attended Springvale House and Peterhouse Boys' School. After representing Zimbabwe in cricket at various age levels, he moved to England in 2006. He attended Harrow School for two years, where he was in the same team as Sam Northeast. Playing for Harrow, he scored a century against Eton College at Lord's.

Ballance is related to former Zimbabwean cricket captain David Houghton through his father, who is a cousin of David's wife.

Ballance married his wife Alex in December 2018. Ballance is colour blind and consequently struggles to see a pink ball when batting.

Domestic career

Ballance signed for Derbyshire for the 2006 season, playing exclusively in their second XI. At the end of that season it was noted in Wisden that he was seen as a ''"real prospect"''. His 2007 season was also entirely spent in the Derbyshire second XI, with Ballance finishing as the side's leading runscorer with 390 in 6 innings, including two centuries.

Ballance missed the entire 2020 domestic season, after its belated post-pandemic commencement, because of a series of reasons, including suffering from anxiety early in the season, followed by his wife testing positive for COVID-19. He subsequently missed the start of the 2021 season after a concussion in nets practice.

Ballance did not appear for Yorkshire's first team in 2022 but remained on the club's staff.

International career

Debut for Zimbabwe Under-19

Ballance played for Zimbabwe U19 at the 2006 U19 Cricket World Cup, winning man-of-the-match against a win against England, who he would later represent internationally.

Debut for England

Following impressive performances for Yorkshire and the England Lions, Gary Ballance debuted for England against Ireland, in Dublin, on 3 September 2013 but failed to impress with the bat after getting caught behind without having scored a run.

2013–14 Ashes series

Ballance was selected for the England squad for the 2013–14 Ashes series. He was selected to play in the 5th Test ahead of fellow Yorkshire teammate Joe Root. He became the 659th player to play for England and was handed his cap by captain Alastair Cook. He was one of three players, the others being Scott Borthwick and Boyd Rankin, to make their debuts in the 5th Test. In the first innings he made 18 runs after coming in with the score at 17/4 and helped England to 155 all out. Test Match Special commentator Geoffrey Boycott acknowledged that Ballance was incredibly unlucky to be dismissed, receiving a corker that pitched in the footmarks. In the second innings he made 7 runs finishing the series with 25 runs. Ballance's next call-up was against Australia during the England tour of Australia. In the 1st ODI, at the MCG, Ballance top scored for England, making 79 runs off 96 balls. However this was not enough to help England win as Australia cruised to a 6 wicket win. Ballance kept his place for the 2nd ODI however he managed only 9 runs off 19 balls before being stumped by Brad Haddin. In the 3rd ODI Ballance batted at number 4 and made 26 runs off 42 balls. He retained his place for the 4th ODI and made 18 runs off 30 balls before being caught. Ballance was left out of the 5th ODI and was replaced by Joe Root.

2014 Sri Lanka series

Ballance featured in the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka, he top scored with 64 runs in England's win. In the 2nd ODI he only made 5 runs in England's 99 run innings. He played in the 3rd ODI however he was not needed in England's 10 wicket win. Ballance was included in the squad for both of the test matches against Sri Lanka, batting at number three as a replacement for Jonathan Trott who had stepped away from cricket during the 2013–14 Ashes. In the first test at Lord's, he made 27 runs in the first innings before reaching his maiden Test hundred in just his second Test match in the second innings, ending not out on 104. He was one of 4 centurions in the series for England, the others being Moeen Ali, Sam Robson and Joe Root, who made a double hundred. Ballance had mixed fortunes in the second test, scoring 74 in the first innings before being dismissed for a golden duck in the second, finishing the series with 205 runs.

2014 India series

In the first test against India, Ballance continued his good form with the bat by making 71 in the first innings as the match ended in a draw. Ballance hit his second Test hundred on 18 July 2014 against India. He scored 110 before being caught behind off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, bringing England back into the match after struggling on 113/4. Ballance became only the third England player to score hundreds in his first two Lord's Tests, after Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott. Ballance scored an impressive 156 in the first innings of the third test but was unfortunate to be given out through a poor decision by the umpire. He was again unlucky when, on 38 in the second innings, he was given out caught when the ball only touched his trouser. In the fourth match of the series he was only required to bat once, making 37 as England won to go 2-1 up in the series. He made 64 in the final test to help England win the game and the series 3–1. Overall, Ballance made 503 runs at an average of 71.85 to set up the test series for England. In the one day series against India Ballance played only in the fourth ODI where he made seven runs.

2015 World Cup

After recovering from injury Ballance played in England's opening game of the World Cup against Australia, where he was dismissed for ten. He was out for ten again as England slumped to an eight wicket defeat against New Zealand. He again only made ten against Scotland, leading to suggestions he would be dropped from the side for the next game against Sri Lanka. However, he kept his place and was dismissed for six as England lost their third game of the tournament. Ballance was then dropped from the side and played no further part in the tournament as England were eliminated at the Group stage. He, along with James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and James Tredwell were dropped to focus on test cricket.

2015 West Indies and New Zealand

Ballance continued in his role as No.3 batsman during England's tour of the West Indies. In the first Test of the three-Test series, he made ten runs in the first innings and then a century in the second innings. In addition to scoring the winning runs in the second Test, he became the third fastest England cricketer to reach 1,000 runs for his career, behind Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton. In the third Test he was less prolific, making scores of 18 and 23 as England suffered two batting collapses to lose the game by five wickets and draw the series 1-1.

Ballance endured a difficult series against New Zealand. He made one in England first innings of the first Test and was then dismissed for a duck in the second innings. Despite this, England went on to win the game by 124 runs. His problems continued in the next Test as he was dismissed for 29 in England's first innings. In the second innings he was dismissed for six as England lost the game by 199 runs to draw the series 1-1.

2015 Ashes series

In the first Ashes Test, Ballance scored 60 in the first innings, but scored a duck in the second innings, as England secured a comfortable opening win by 169 runs. In the second Test, Ballance was out for 23 in England's first innings as they were dismissed for 312. In England's second innings he was dismissed for just 14 as England were bowled out for just 103 and suffered a humiliating 405 run defeat. Following the game, Ballance was dropped in favour of Jonny Bairstow and played no further part in the series. England went on to win the series 3–2.

2016 and 2017

Ballance was recalled due to Nick Compton's poor form, and James Taylor being forced into retirement. Ballance returned to the side for the Test series against Pakistan and made six in England first innings. He made 43 in their second innings as England lost the opening match by 75 runs. In the second Test he only batted once, making 23 as England went on to secure a 330 run victory to level the series at 1-1. He made 70 in the first innings of the third Test, and made 23 in the second innings as England turned around the match to win 141 runs after a strong bowling display in the second innings. Ballance made eight in England's first innings of the final Test, as England were dismissed for 328. England went on to lose the game by 10 wickets and draw the series 1-1, with Ballance making 17 in England's second innings.

In the first Test against Bangladesh, Ballance could only manage scores of 1 and 9, although England did enough to win the game by 21 runs. In the second Test, Balance managed just 9 in England's total of 244, and again failed in the second innings, this time making 5 as England lost the match by 108 runs and drew the series 1-1.

On 6 July 2017 Ballance was recalled to play in the first test against South Africa at Lord's after his form recovered for Yorkshire, and was selected under Joe Root's recommendation. Ballance played the first two tests before a broken thumb ruled him out of the next two matches.

Debut for Zimbabwe and return to international Cricket in 2022-23 season

Zimbabwe Cricket Union confirmed that Ballance had transferred allegiance following a period of ineligibility, and would represent Zimbabwe from 2022 onwards. Ballance's Zimbabwe senior debut will be against a touring Ireland team in January 2023.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club racism scandal

Following an investigation into racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, it was announced on 3 November 2021 that Ballance was the cricketer who repeatedly made racial slurs to fellow player Azeem Rafiq. Following this announcement, he was suspended from selection to play for England. Ballance issued a statement in explanation. In December 2022, Ballance was released from his contract with Yorkshire two years early, under the condition that he does not play for a different County Championship side in 2023. He had not played first team cricket for Yorkshire since the scandal became public.

References

External links

*

Gary Ballance
s profile page on Wisden

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballance, Gary
1989 births
Living people
English cricket captains
Yorkshire cricket captains
English cricketers
England Test cricketers
England One Day International cricketers
Derbyshire cricketers
Yorkshire cricketers
Mid West Rhinos cricketers
Cricketers from Harare
Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup
Alumni of Peterhouse Boys' School
People educated at Harrow School
Zimbabwean people of British descent
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Zimbabwean emigrants to the United Kingdom