Zimbabwe Cricket have been 'elated' to bring aboard England's batter into their cricket framework. Following his release from the Yorkshire county side, England's Gary Ballance is set to play for Zimbabwe in domestic and international cricket after penning a two-year contract with the country of his birth.
Harare-born left-handed batter Ballance has played 23 Tests and 16 ODI for England between 2014-2017. Before moving abroad, he had starred for Zimbabwe at the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup in 2006 while still a schoolboy at Peterhouse Boys School in Marondera. "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," Ballance said in an official statement.
He added, "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." Ballance did not play for Yorkshire since the end of the 2021 season, having taken a lengthy break from cricket to manage his mental health, especially when Azeem Rafiq named him in his explosive testimony during the DCMS parliamentary hearings in Westminster last November. Ballance had been supported by the club at that time and went on to apologise to Rafiq. In being released by Yorkshire, originally supposed to run till the 2024 season, he had said that he will not be seeking to play for any other county side in County Championship 2023.
"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," said Hamilton Masakadza, ZC Director of Cricket.
