Yorkshire: Gary Ballance

 

English cricket cancelled Gary Ballance, this is what happened next

Nick Hoult 22/05

Having departed the UK to rebuild his life after the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, 35-year-old returns at Trent Bridge as a Zimbabwe coach

Gary Ballance will be a familiar face on the balcony at Trent Bridge this week, returning as Zimbabwe’s assistant coach to the scene of his last Test for England in 2017.

It is almost four years since Ballance last played for Yorkshire in September 2021. He was then released from his contract two years early in December 2023 at his own request in order to find a “fresh start”.

Implicated heavily in the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, Ballance arguably lost more than any of the accused in that whole saga.

He admitted to using racist language as part of what he said were friendly exchanges between the pair and apologised to Rafiq in person. Ballance was eventually given a six-match ban and £3,000 fine by the Cricket Disciplinary Commission.

By then he had already given up a lucrative county career at Yorkshire, and decided he had no future in England. In effect, English cricket had cancelled him. He was broken, mentally exhausted by it all and felt he had to return to his home country to rebuild a shattered life.

In Zimbabwe, he was soon persuaded to return to playing and proved he was still good enough. In his only Test match for the country, in February 2023, he scored 137 not out in Bulawayo against a West Indies attack featuring Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder. It made him only the second cricketer after Kepler Wessels to score a Test hundred for two different countries.

But it did not last. Two months later he retired. “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,” he said.

Ballance has not spoken publicly about the toll the Yorkshire affair had on him but others have been open. Michael Vaughan told Telegraph Sport last year how he is managing a stress-induced inflammatory illness caused by the scandal. Matthew Hoggard revealed recently his fears his wife would take her life as the racism scandal engulfed him. John Blain admitted he had suicidal thoughts as well. Rafiq, too, moved away after receiving death threats following his appearance at a DCMS government hearing in which he accused cricket of being institutionally racist and said Ballance’s racial language had made him feel “isolated and humiliated”.

Ballance’s England career was already over by then. For a while he was a solid, consistent run-scorer at No 3. He finished his career with a Test career average just above 40 from 24 matches. He was the third-fastest England batsman to 1,000 Test runs, taking 17 innings, and scored four hundreds before his deep-in-the-crease technique was exposed by the pace of Australia and South Africa.

Considering his experience of English conditions, you could make a strong argument that of all the Zimbabweans at Trent Bridge this week, he would be the most likely to score a hundred in their first Test match in England for two decades. At 35, he could easily still be playing for Yorkshire, churning out 1,000 championship runs a season and earning a good living as a consistent, reliable batsman available all summer. He is younger than Adam Lyth, still opening for Yorkshire, the same age as Jonny Bairstow and just 11 months older than Joe Root.

Instead he is rebuilding his life as a coach, and given his experiences over the past few years he will be able to offer young players valuable life lessons, aside from the technicalities of batting. He is said to relish coaching and few in English cricket will begrudge him a second chance – that “fresh start” he had to leave this country to find.

Ballance will find friendly faces in the England dressing room. He was a housemate of Root’s for a while and close to Ben Stokes. Harry Brook was a Yorkshire team-mate. The rest of his England generation have moved on.

He could not have been granted a more low-key return to cricket than a cold Thursday morning last week at Grace Road, where about 50 spectators huddled against the wind and the PA announcer warned there was no hot food on sale.

A four-day leg-stretcher against a Professional County Club Select XI in Leicester proved a tricky start for Zimbabwe. They lost by 138 runs despite taking a first-innings lead. The county team, coached by Andrew Flintoff and Mark Wood, declared at 464 for seven in their second innings with Thomas Rew, the 17-year-old younger brother of James who is in the England squad this week, scoring 103.

So it could be a bruising week for Zimbabwe in Nottingham, but at least in Ballance they have a backroom voice who knows life can present much harder problems than defeat on the cricket field.

30/03

MEMBER APATHY

 Is this where Members' voting apathy can lead to? You know who you are!

Labour MP reports Yorkshire for ‘paving way’ to sell-off

Alarm sounded over membership application changes that Alex Sobell claims could compromise Yorkshire’s future

Ben Rumsby

The Financial Conduct Authority has been urged to take immediate action over a move by Yorkshire that, it is claimed, could result in the club being sold without the consent of members.

Alex Sobell, the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, raised the alarm over changes made to applications for membership of the county which no longer automatically confer the right to have a say on Yorkshire’s future.

Those signing up or renewing for 2025 must now “opt in” to vote on matters such as plans announced by chairman Colin Graves last year to take the 162-year-old members club into private ownership.

Yorkshire have since been reassessing those plans after selling their Hundred franchise, Northern Superchargers, to the owners of Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad for more than £100 million.

Graves, the former England and Wales Cricket Board chairman who was behind the launch of the Hundred, told Telegraph Sport last month the club had previously been two weeks from going bust, something that had been driving his push for demutualisation.

Despite Graves no longer being wedded to privatisation, Sobell has accused the club of creating a “mechanism to reduce the number of eligible voting members, thereby distorting any potential ballot on a future demutualisation proposal”.
In his letter to the FCA, Sobell, an opponent of demutualisation and a critic of Graves’s return to the club in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, wrote: “I am gravely concerned that these changes may undermine the democratic principles of the club’s governance and pave the way for its privatisation without adhering to proper due process, in contravention of the protections afforded under the Mutuals Act 1995.

“This amendment appears to be a deliberate mechanism to reduce the number of eligible voting members, thereby distorting any potential ballot on a future demutualisation proposal. Under the club’s current governance rules, any such motion to demutualise and convert YCC into a private company would require a 75% supermajority of votes cast by members. By reducing the pool of voting members through the opt-in requirement, this procedural change creates an undue advantage for proponents of privatisation.

“I am concerned that this governance change may conflict with the principles enshrined in the Mutuals Act 1995, which is designed to safeguard members’ rights and ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability in organisations operating on a mutual basis.

“The Mutuals Act outlines the statutory protections for members and the processes required for significant constitutional changes, including demutualisation. The actions undertaken by Mr Graves and the YCC board raise serious questions about whether these statutory safeguards are being observed.

“Moreover, these developments risk undermining the integrity and reputation of YCC, an iconic sporting institution. The appearance of an intentional effort to curtail member participation and democratic oversight is deeply troubling. Such actions could set a dangerous precedent for the governance of mutual organisations across the country.

“Given the serious implications of these changes, I respectfully urge the FCA to initiate an immediate investigation into the following: Whether the governance changes regarding voting rights comply with the Mutuals Act 1995 and other relevant regulatory requirements. Whether adequate consultation and transparency measures were undertaken before implementing the opt-in mechanism. Whether the actions of the YCC board, including Mr Graves, constitute an attempt to unduly influence or manipulate the outcome of a potential demutualisation ballot.”

Telegraph Sport has been told the FCA plans to respond to Sobell’s letter.

Yorkshire, who have more than 5,000 voting members, declined to comment. But a source said the change Sobell was complaining about had been made because only about 15 per cent of the county’s memberships tended to take part in votes and the club felt an automatic opt-in was unnecessary.

Scarborough CC Pull-Out of League