Born in Zimbabwe, Gary Ballance was already on Derbyshire's books as a 16-year-old and made a handful of appearances for them in 2006 and 2007. This followed a decent showing at the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in February 2006 when his offspinners collected three wickets in the win over England and he struck an impressive 53 against the tournament hosts. An innings of 73 against Hampshire in a Pro40 match in August 2006 caught the eye but after limited chances in 2007 he signed an Academy contract with Yorkshire.

He was one of Yorkshire's better players during their relegation summer in 2011, during which the team suffered from several dire Championship batting performances. He added 717 runs at 42.17 in the Championship and 331 runs at 55.16 in the Clydesdale Bank 40, and was rewarded with a two-year contract extension.

During the winter off-seasons, he has plied his trade for Mid West Rhinos in Zimbabwe, where he made a big entrance to the 2010-11 season, his second season with them, by cracking the first double hundred of his career to set up an innings victory over Southern Rocks. In the 2011-12 season he passed 1,000 first-class runs in only 14 innings and captained the side to the final of the 50-overs Coca-Cola Cup competition. It was here that his advancement was most emphatically announced.

As Yorkshire regained their Division One status at the first attempt in 2012, Ballance was again a key figure. His 613 Championship runs included an unbeaten 121 as Yorkshire completed the second biggest successful run chase in their history against Gloucestershire at Bristol in May, when they knocked off a target of 400 to win in 110 overs with four wickets and 14 balls to spare; Ballance clinched victory with a four followed by consecutive sixes off the left-arm spinner, Ed Young.

He topped Yorkshire's Clydesdale Bank 40 averages with 469 runs at 58.62, including a 91-ball 103 not out against the Unicorns, while his 356 Twenty20 runs included two half-centuries in the Champions League. These performances led to his selection for the England Lions squad picked for a limited-overs tour of Australia in February 2013.
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