England has become one of the biggest cricketing hubs in recent times. With the growth of county cricket and The Hundred, many cricketers prefer settling down in England and play the sport for a living. Some of the players who were not even born in England went on to play for the England cricket team at the international level.
The best example is former England cricket team captain Eoin Morgan. The left-handed batter was born in Ireland and represented the Irish cricket team at the international level before moving to England. His teammate Ben Stokes was born in New Zealand, while Jason Roy was born in South Africa. Even Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan were born in West Indies.
Not all cricketers who moved to England have achieved similar success like Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan, the following two players decided to leave their home nation and play for England for a better future. However, they were rejected by the English team, which ultimately forced them to join their own home nation’s team.
In this listicle now, we will look at two players born outside England, who played for England, got rejected soon and came back to their original team.
1. One of the Zimbabwe cricketers – Gary Ballance
Gary Ballance pic.twitter.com/9kgbN3KzaS
— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) January 4, 2023
Gary Ballance was born in Zimbabwe, and he played for the African nation at the 2006 U-19 World Cup. However, the left-handed batter soon made up his mind to join England.
He made his international debut for England in 2013. After 23 Tests and 16 ODIs, Ballance lost his place in the team in 2017. He has left England now and signed a contract with Zimbabwe Cricket.
2. Boyd Rankin
Big day for big Boyd Rankin! #IREvPAK pic.twitter.com/Ox55Etmh01
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 12, 2018
Former Ireland fast bowler Boyd Rankin first played for his home nation, then moved to England and ultimately came back to the Ireland cricket team again. Rankin played for Ireland from 2007-12 and 2016-20, while his stint with England lasted from 2013-14.
