Gary Ballance joins Zimbabwe coaching staff for England tour

New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) Former England and Zimbabwe batter Gary Ballance has been added to Zimbabwe’s coaching staff as a consultant for their upcoming tour of England, which includes a historic one-off Test at Trent Bridge starting May 22.

Ballance, who spent the majority of his professional playing career in England with Yorkshire, brings extensive experience of English conditions. He played 23 Tests for England between 2014 and 2017, and made a strong start to his international career by becoming the third-fastest Englishman to reach 1000 Test runs, a record now equalled by Harry Brook. However, after a dip in form, Ballance's England career ended in 2017.

In a rare international switch, Ballance later chose to represent Zimbabwe, the country of his birth. He made a memorable debut for Zimbabwe in 2023, scoring an unbeaten 137 in a Test match—making him only the second player after Kepler Wessels to score Test centuries for two different countries. After featuring in one Test, five ODIs and a T20I for Zimbabwe, he retired from all forms of professional cricket later that year.

Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Givemore Makoni welcomed Ballance’s appointment: “We are thrilled to welcome Gary Ballance to our coaching set-up for this historic tour. His deep understanding of English conditions, gained over years of playing at the highest level, will be a valuable asset to our team's tactical preparation.”

Ballance, who spent the majority of his professional playing career in England with Yorkshire, brings extensive experience of English conditions. He played 23 Tests for England between 2014 and 2017, and made a strong start to his international career by becoming the third-fastest Englishman to reach 1000 Test runs, a record now equalled by Harry Brook. However, after a dip in form, Ballance's England career ended in 2017.

In a rare international switch, Ballance later chose to represent Zimbabwe, the country of his birth. He made a memorable debut for Zimbabwe in 2023, scoring an unbeaten 137 in a Test match—making him only the second player after Kepler Wessels to score Test centuries for two different countries. After featuring in one Test, five ODIs and a T20I for Zimbabwe, he retired from all forms of professional cricket later that year.

Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Givemore Makoni welcomed Ballance’s appointment: “We are thrilled to welcome Gary Ballance to our coaching set-up for this historic tour. His deep understanding of English conditions, gained over years of playing at the highest level, will be a valuable asset to our team's tactical preparation.”

Zimbabwe are set to fly to the UK on Friday. Before the four-day Test against England, they will face a First-Class County XI in a warm-up match in Leicester. Post that, they will also play South Africa in a four-day fixture at Arundel from June 3-6. That game forms part of South Africa’s preparation for the World Test Championship final against Australia.

--IANS

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