Ballance joins Zimbabwe staff for England Test

Former batter Gary Ballance will be part of Zimbabwe’s coaching staff during the four-day Test against England later this month.

Ballance, 35, played 23 Tests and 16 one-day internationals for England between 2013 and 2017.

After admitting using racist language as part of the Yorkshire racism scandal in 2021, Ballance signed a two-year deal to play for Zimbabwe – the country of his birth.

He played one Test, five ODIs and one T20 for Zimbabwe before retiring in 2023, saying he “no longer has the desire to dedicate himself” to professional sport.

“We are thrilled to welcome Gary Ballance to our coaching set-up for this historic tour,” said Zimbabwe’s managing director Givemore Makoni.

Ballance scored 1,653 runs at an average of 40.31 in Tests.

After taking 10 Tests or 17 innings to reach 1,000 Test runs – he was the third fastest to that landmark for England behind Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton – he faded and was dropped in 2017.

He played for Yorkshire between 2008 and 2021 and admitted he was responsible for some of the offensive terms Azeem Rafiq was subjected to during his time at Headingley.

England and Zimbabwe meet in a one-off Test at Trent Bridge from 22 May.