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Hong Kong to New Zealand, Ireland to England: the move from Associate to Full Member

As Hayden Walsh Jr. prepares to play for West Indies, a look at other players who have appeared for both an Associate and Full Member

Mark Chapman plays the ramp  •  AFP

Mark Chapman plays the ramp  •  AFP

Hayden Walsh Jr.'s call-up to the West Indies ODI and T20I squads is a reminder of one of the quirks in the ICC eligibility policy with regards to players representing two countries. A player who has played for a Full Member at senior level must wait three years after their last appearance before they can represent an Associate Member.
However, someone who has played for an Associate Member on Monday can make an immediate switch and play for a Full Member on Tuesday if called up. Here's a rundown of some players who have made a very quick move.
Mark Chapman: Hong Kong to New Zealand
The left-arm spinning allrounder was born in Hong Kong to a mother from mainland China and a father from New Zealand. Chapman was raised in Hong Kong though he did his higher education in New Zealand. After playing as a 15-year-old for Hong Kong at the 2010 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, Chapman made his Hong Kong debut in January 2011 as a 16-year-old against USA at ICC WCL Division Three. His last match for Hong Kong came at the 2016 T20 World Cup in India against Scotland. Consistent performances for Auckland in New Zealand's domestic competition finally earned him a New Zealand call-up in February 2018 for a T20I series at home against England.
Dirk Nannes: Netherlands to Australia
Born in Victoria, Nannes made his debut for the state in February 2006 and over the next three years he played 17 first-class and 15 List A matches them. But he carved out a much more prominent niche in T20 cricket, first for Victoria in the pre-franchise era of the Big Bash League, then for Middlesex in England's domestic T20 tournament before being taken by Delhi Daredevils in the 2009 IPL.
Two weeks after the end of the 2009 IPL, Nannes utilised his Dutch passport - through his lineage - to make his Netherlands debut in the 2009 T20 World Cup in England taking the new ball in their famous win at Lord's. He played against Pakistan four days later for his final match for Netherlands on June 9. Less than three months later, he was called up to make his Australia debut in an ODI against Scotland in Edinburgh before making his Australia T20I debut two days later against England at Old Trafford.
Eoin Morgan: Ireland to England
From Dublin, Morgan made his Ireland international debut in a 50-over match against Denmark five days short of his 17th birthday in September 2003. He went on to play in Ireland's first ever World Cup appearance as a 20-year-old in 2007, then helped them qualify for the 2011 World Cup with solid performances at the 2009 Qualifier in South Africa.
By that stage he had been playing for Middlesex long enough to qualify for England on residency. His final innings for Ireland was 76 off 62 balls in a six-wicket win over Netherlands in South Africa on April 15, 2009, a match which helped Ireland secure a spot in the 2011 World Cup. Just over a month later, he made his England debut in an ODI against West Indies.
Ed Joyce: Ireland to England
Another Dublin boy, he first played for Ireland as an 18-year-old against Scotland in 1997. But it was Joyce who blazed a trail for Morgan at Middlesex when he joined the county in 1999. He played in the final of the 2005 ICC Trophy (World Cup Qualifier) in Dublin, a tournament in which he scored two centuries and two fifties in his five innings to help Ireland qualify for their maiden World Cup, but 11 months later he was in an England shirt making an ODI debut for his new country in Belfast against his old Ireland team-mates. When his England career faded his focus returned to Ireland and in 2011 he made his first ODI appearance for them at the World Cup in India.
Boyd Rankin: Ireland to England
The towering Londonderry fast bowler made his Ireland debut in August 2006 against Italy and stayed in an Ireland shirt for the next six years, making his final appearance during his first stint in September 2012 against Australia in the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Rankin had been on the books at Derbyshire and Warwickshire since 2006, who were grooming him for England colours. The switch finally happened nine months after that last appearance for Ireland - in his first go-around at least - when he suited up for England in an T20I against New Zealand in June 2013.
Gavin Hamilton: Scotland to England
The allrounder made his Scotland international debut as an 18-year-old against Ireland in a three-day match at Eglinton in June 1993. He impressed enough for Scotland at the 1999 World Cup to catch England's attention. After playing his last World Cup match for Scotland against New Zealand on May 31, 1999, he suited up in whites for England just six months later against South Africa in a Test at the Wanderers in November 1999. He's the only Associate player to play a Test as his debut match for a Full Member nation rather than a T20I or ODI. It wound up being his only match for England before resuming his Scotland career in February 2004.
Hayden Walsh Jr.: USA to West Indies
Born in St. Croix of the US Virgin Islands, Walsh moved to his parents' native Antigua when he was just a few months old and is a dual national of both the USA and Antigua. After playing first-class cricket for both Leeward Islands and Barbados, he utilized his US passport to gain selection for USA in November 2018 as part of their squad for World Cricket League Division Three in Oman.
Walsh made his USA T20I debut against UAE in March, then his ODI debut - which wound up being his lone ODI - against Papua New Guinea in Namibia this past April after they secured ODI status through a top-four finish at WCL Division Two. As recently as August 25, he was playing in a T20I for USA against Canada as part of the 2020 T20 World Cup qualifying process. But after a Player of the Tournament performance in the 2019 CPL for the champions Barbados Tridents, Walsh was called up into West Indies' ODI and T20I squads for a November series against Afghanistan in India.

Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo's USA correspondent @PeterDellaPenna