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. There, he eventually forced his way into the First XI, and was one of Yorkshire's better players during the 2011 summer , during which the team suffered from several dire 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-season, he continued to ply his trade for Mid West Rhinos in Zimbabwe, and made a big entrance in his second season with them by cracking the first double hundred of his career to set up an innings victory over Southern Rocks.

Liam Brickhill October 2011