Gary Ballance retires from all cricket months after moving to Zimbabwe

Just three months after relaunching an eventful and controversial career in his native Zimbabwe, former Yorkshire and England batsman Gary Ballance has retired from all cricket at the age of 33.

Ballance had signed a two-year contract with Zimbabwe after agreeing to his release from Yorkshire after admitting he had used racist language towards former team-mate Azeem Rafiq. Ballance pleaded guilty to five charges brought against him by the Cricket Disciplinary Commission before a hearing in London last month and apologized to Rafiq before flying home to Zimbabwe.

Ballance scored a century on his Test debut against Zimbabwe against the West Indies in February (thus becoming only the second man to score a century in two Test countries) and looked to be rebuilding his career, but the shock statement on Wednesday. revealed that he was walking away from the game.

I had hoped that my move to Zimbabwe would bring me new luck in the game and I will always be grateful to Zimbabwe Cricket for giving me the opportunity to return to international cricket and welcoming me into their team,” said Ballance.

However, I have reached a stage where I no longer have the desire to dedicate myself to the rigors of professional sport and it would be a disservice to Zimbabwean cricket and the game itself if I continued. I wish them success in the future.

I have been fortunate to have some incredibly memorable moments in cricket, winning the County Championships with Yorkshire and achieving the ultimate honor of representing England and Zimbabwe. I would like to thank all my clubs, coaches, support staff, teammates and supporters for their guidance and encouragement throughout my career, it has been a privilege.

It is now time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life.

Ballance’s career was rarely quiet. He was born in Zimbabwe but educated in Harrow. He joined Yorkshire as a teenager and befriended Joe Root, with whom he lived for a time. The pair soon found themselves in the England team together.

Three years after his last England appearance, Ballance took a break from the game in 2020 to deal with “some heightened feelings of anxiety and stress” and did not play for Yorkshire’s first team last summer as a racism scandal engulfed the club. documents that Yorkshire had covered up aspects of Ballance’s personal life, including drug use.

“Over the years, the YCCC protected Gary Ballance in relation to his drug and alcohol problems, allowing him to skip drug hair samples to avoid sanctions,” Rafiq claimed. “When he failed a drug test and had to miss some games, the club announced to the public that he was out because he was struggling with anxiety and mental health issues.

Ballance categorically denied Rafiq’s claims. The couple once considered themselves close friends.

Despite dealing with off-field issues, Ballance remained one of the most consistent goalscorers in the English game. He retires with a first-class average of nearly 48 and 42 centuries. He also had an excellent A-list record, averaging 47.4.

Ballance also made an excellent start to his Test career in 2014, scoring four hundreds in his first nine matches, becoming the third fastest England batsman (and ninth overall) to 1,000 Test runs. But his comebacks quickly dried up and, with problems identified in his footwork, particularly against left-arm pace, he was dropped with two matches left in the 2015 Ashes series. Consistent performances for Yorkshire earned him brief recall in both 2016 and 2017.