Six Cricketers Who Found Success In New Homes

Jul 6, 2020 at 4:02 PM

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Six Cricketers Who Found Success In New Homes

When one door closes, God opens another door. This phrase is apt for the players mentioned in this list. Some players who could not get the opportunity or didn’t enjoy success for their home country turned out to be the star performer for another country. They left their home nation to dedicate their cricket career and attain success for other nations. 

Here, in this list, we have named six cricketers who found success in new homes:

Gehan Mendis: 

Gehan Mendis
Gehan Mendis. Image Credit: Getty Images.

The former prominent opening batsman for Sussex and Lancashire, Gehan Mendis, was born in Sri Lanka. He emigrated from his birthplace to England at the age of 12. So, he was eligible to play for both Sri Lanka and England but he chose to dedicate his cricket career to the country where he had grown up.

Mendis made his first-class debut for Sussex in 1974. He developed his skills while playing for Sussex and was named as the Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year for 1980. After playing 12 seasons for them, he joined Lancashire for the 1986 season.

In the 80s when the county had prominent fast and aggressive bowlers, he was considered as the best in facing quick bowling. He scored 40 hundreds among his 21,087 first-class runs for his two counties, as well as another 8,000 in one-day cricket. However, he didn’t get the opportunity to play for the England national cricket team. 

Cardigan Connor: 

Cardigan Connor
Cardigan Connor. Image Credit: Getty Images.

Cardigan Connor was the cult figure in county cricket. He was among the list of dangerous fast bowlers of the 80s. Connor left his home island of Anguilla in 1979 to pursue a cricketing career in England. Since Anguilla is a British overseas territory, he was eligible to play county cricket as a local. He started his county career for Buckinghamshire and played them for five years but he shinned in the county for Hampshire.

The right-arm pacer was the known name in the county. He registered his career-best 9 for 38 came at the age of 35. There was talk of a possible limited-overs international career but it never materialised and he had to content himself to only domestic cricket. Connor retired at the end of the 1998 season. In total Connor took over 1,000 wickets for Hampshire.

Kevin Pietersen:

Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

At the age of 20, South Africa-born Kevin Pietersen moved to England after making his first-class debut for Natal, which is the first-class cricket team that represents the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. His decision to play for England was because, at that time, he raised his voice against the racial quota system in South African cricket.

However, his decision to play for England proved to be beneficial for him because he became the star performer for his team. He made the Test debut in the victorious Ashes 2005 series where he has a significant contribution in creating history. He was also the vital cog for the English team in T20 World Cup 2010 triumph as he was awarded player of the tournament. 

His success in England paved the way for many other South Africans – Kyle Abbott, Simon Harmer, Rilee Rossouw and Duanne Olivier among them – to make the move to England in later years. The former cricketer has played in 104 Test matches and 136 ODIs.

Basil D’Oliveira:

Basil D'Oliveira
Basil D’Oliveira. Image Credit: Getty Images.

Basil D’Oliveira was caught up in controversy which made his name common in cricket. The South Africa born cricketer Basil D’Oliveira migrated to England in 1960 during the apartheid era. Being a Cape Coloured, D’Oliveira was not permitted to play for South Africa but on broadcast-writer John Arlott’s insistence, Middleton, a Central Lancashire League club, signed him as a professional in 1960.

In 1966, he made his Test debut for England against West Indies. He was surrounded in controversy after he was initially omitted from the MCC squad to tour South Africa in 1968-69 but was later included in the squad as a replacement. This action stirred the South African regime how claimed it a political move and said they would not admit the team’s entry into their country. The MCC ended up cancelling the tour, and the cricket world boycotted South Africa until the end of apartheid.

However, the right-hand batsman, who was a part-time bowler, played for England in 44 Test matches and 4 ODIs. He made his name popular with his outstanding performances.

Khalid Ibadulla:

Khalid Ibadulla
Khalid Ibadulla(R). Image Credit: Getty Images.

Khalid Ibadulla, born in Lahore, played in most of his career for England. He became first Pakistan’s professional cricketer to play in the county circuit, debuting for Warwickshire in 1954. After gaining success in England, he made the debut for Pakistan where he just only played three Test matches. Notably, he played more matches against the Green Army as part of a Commonwealth XI tour in 1963. He ended his career with more than 17,000 first-class runs and 462 wickets.

Jofra Archer:

Jofra Archer, Australian fans
Jofra Archer. Image Credit: Getty Images.

Barbados-born cricketer Jofra Archer is the most famous name in this list. Chris Jordan, who was also Barbados born and played for England, advised him to play for England as Archer was not getting the opportunity to play for West Indies. His father is an Englishmen so he held British citizenship through his father.

Archer’s decision to play for England turned his fortune. He became the lethal bowler of England and was the match-winner in their maiden World Cup title in 2019. He continued to stun the oppositions with his pace.

The right-arm pacer also had a decent Ashes 2019 series where fans enjoyed his rivalry with Steve Smith. 

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