Zimbabwe has appointed former left-handed batsman Gary Ballance as a coaching consultant.
Ballance, a former player for both Zimbabwe and England, is returning to the Zimbabwe team in a new role. He has been added to the coaching staff ahead of Zimbabwe’s tour of England.
Zimbabwe will face England in a single Test match at Trent Bridge on May 22, marking their first Test in England since 2003.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Zimbabwe Cricket announced the hiring of Ballance as a coaching consultant for the tour. The former left-handed batsman spent over a decade playing county cricket with Yorkshire, and Zimbabwe hopes to leverage his experience.
Ballance made his Test debut for England during the 2013-14 Ashes series in Sydney. He set a record for the third-fastest 1,000 runs in Tests for England, achieved in 17 innings (later matched by Harry Brook).
By 2017, Ballance had played 23 Tests for England, scoring four centuries. He also appeared in 16 One-Day Internationals for the country. However, his international career stalled after that, although he continued to play regularly in county cricket.
His career faced a setback amid the racism controversy involving Azeem Rafiq at Yorkshire, where Ballance was one of six players accused. He also had to take extended breaks from cricket due to mental health issues. In late 2022, Yorkshire released him from his contract.
Hoping for a fresh start, Ballance returned to his birthplace, Zimbabwe, where he played five One-Day Internationals, scoring two fifties. He also made history with a brilliant century in Test cricket against the West Indies. He became one of the few players to score centuries for two different countries in Test cricket, joining the ranks of Kepler Wessels, who achieved this feat for both South Africa and Australia.
In addition to his five One-Day Internationals, Ballance played one Test and one T20I for Zimbabwe. He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in April 2023 at the age of 33.
Now, he faces a new challenge.
Zimbabwe will depart for the UK this Friday, where they will play a warm-up match against a county XI in Leicester before the four-day Test against England. Additionally, ahead of the Test Championship final at Lord’s, Zimbabwe is scheduled to play a four-day match against South Africa from June 3.
