Ballance scoops county accolade

Player of the Year at Yorkshire last week.
The 21-year left-handed batsman enjoyed an impressive breakthrough season in county cricket and has been one of the shining lights in a dismal summer for the Headingley outfit, whose relegation from Division One was confirmed this week.

Despite the gloom surrounding the club, Ballance still managed to take his first team opportunities with both hands and acquitted himself well.
He had batting averages of 42.17 in the first class competition after featuring in 11 matches in the LV County Championship.
Ballance scored 717 runs the championship matches, including a century and eight fifties. His best for the season was 111 runs.
He scored his maiden Championship century at Edgbaston in the penultimate fixture after a spirited fight all season but finding the mark elusive.

He also posted 331 runs from eight Clydesdale Bank 40 fixtures, including two fifties, and 215 from 13 twenty20 outings. Because of his role in the Yorkshire set up this season, it was only befitting that Ballance top a superb individual season by taking the vote of his team-mates to receive the Players’ Player of the Year Award.
Ballance’s form will not have gone unnoticed by the England selectors, and the player could be lost to Zimbabwe as he made clear his intentions if the opportunity arises.

“I’m fully English qualified, and I would be available if anything like that comes along. I’d love to be involved in something like that. If I keep scoring runs for Yorkshire, whatever happens, happens. But I’m definitely English qualified.”
Ballance played for Zimbabwe under-19s at the 2006 World Cup, but signed terms with Derbyshire ahead of that same summer. He spent two seasons with the Peakites before signing an Academy deal with Yorkshire.

He struggled to break into the first team, only playing two Championship and three Twenty20 matches prior to this summer.
And the player, who plans to return to Zimbabwe to play for the Mid West Rhinos, had to start this campaign with the second XI.
But he got his chance due to injuries and international call-ups ahead of the Championship clash with Lancashire at Liverpool, and has not looked back.

Ballance played five times for Zimbabwe in the 2006 Under 19s World Cup in Sri Lanka and he received the man-of-the-match award for an excellent all-round performance against England when he scored 47 and took 3-21. He also hit 53 against Sri Lanka.
Ballance was Rhinos’ highest scorer in Logan Cup last season with 718 runs from nine matches. He struck for centuries during the season with a highest score of 132 runs and was the second highest contributor in the MetBank Pro40 Championships where he amassed 176 in five starts.

Mid West Rhinos chief executive Kenyon Ziehl confirmed that Ballance and some of the overseas players they lined up for this season will be coming next week for the new season.
Ziehl said Rhinos who have played in four of the last six finals in the previous two season will be hoping to land silverware this season.
“Gary has really improved playing at Yorkshire and it’s exciting to have him back in the team. Right now we are doing fitness tests and one interesting thing is that we have played in many finals but we haven’t won anything. We have been competent but we couldn’t cross the finishing line. But after coming close on many occasions we now have got that experience and I think we have learnt something on how to win,” said Ziehl.

Rhinos managed to retain most of their players from last season and are negotiating for the return of former New Zealand player Lou Vincent and Australian Shaun Tait for the Stanbic Bank Twenty20.
Rikki Wessels and Australian coach Jason Gillespie are also earmarked for a return while opening batsman Steven Marillier joins the franchise from Southern Rocks.