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Gary Ballance: Former England batter signs two-year deal to play for Zimbabwe after release from Yorkshire

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Gary Ballance, former England batter has agreed a two-year deal to play for his native Zimbabwe following his release from Yorkshire.

Ballance, who admitted using racist language against former Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq during a lengthy statement in late 2021, has spent the past year on the sidelines dealing with mental health issues.

The 33-year-old’s departure from Yorkshire was announced on Thursday and it was revealed that he would not play county cricket during the 2023 campaign.

Ballance will now play for Zimbabwe, the nation he featured for during the Under-19 World Cup before moving to England in 2006, where he initially represented Derbyshire before joining Yorkshire in 2008.

The left-hander played 23 Tests for England between 2014 and 2017, scoring 1,498 runs including four centuries at an average of 37.14, while he also figured in 16 one-day internationals between 2013 and 2015, hitting two fifties.

In a statement Zimbabwe Cricket said: “Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) is delighted to announce Gary Ballance has agreed a two-year contract to play domestic and international cricket in and for the country of his birth.”

Commenting after ZC contracted Ballance, now aged 33, ZC Director of Cricket Hamilton Masakadza 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.”

Ballance “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.

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.