Former England international Gary Ballance announces retirement from all forms of cricket on April 19, 2023.
Gary Ballance Announces Retirement
Ballance was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is known for his style of striking deep in the crease. He qualified to play for England through residency and British passports.
He had a promising start to his Test career. In his first ten Test matches, he scored 1017 runs in 17 innings at an average of 67.93, putting him behind only Sir Donald Bradman in the list of batsmen with both 1000+ test runs and an average of above 60.
On 25 April 2015, Ballance became the third fastest England Test cricketer to reach 1,000 runs, a feat which he achieved during the second Test against West Indies
The left-hander signed a two-year deal to play for his native Zimbabwe late last year after being released from Yorkshire. Ballance quits the game with five Test hundreds to his name, with the latest one (137 not out) coming in the only Test he featured in for Zimbabwe.
In September 2021, he agreed for a three-year extension of his contract with the Yorkshire club prior to the outbreak of the Azeem Rafiq racism saga. He subsequently missed the start of the 2021 season after a concussion in nets practice
“After much thought, I have decided to retire from all forms of professional cricket with immediate effect,” Ballance said in a statement issued by the Professional Cricketers’ Association.
“I had hoped my move to Zimbabwe would provide me with a new-found happiness for the game and I will always be thankful to Zimbabwe Cricket for providing me with an opportunity to return to international cricket and welcoming me into their team.
“However, I have reached the stage where I no longer have the desire to dedicate myself to the rigours of professional sport and this would do Zimbabwe Cricket and the game itself a disservice, should I carry on. I wish them every success going forward.”
Gary Ballance played 24 Tests, 21 ODIs and 1 T20I and scored 1653, 454, and 30 runs.
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