Gareth Berg

Gareth Kyle Berg (born 18 January 1981) is a South African-born English-Italian cricketer who last played domestic cricket for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.^[1] Born in South Africa, he attended Edgemead Primary School and then SACS (South African College School) . He is not considered a Kolpak player, and is qualified by residency for England as well as holding an Italian passport.^[2] In January 2021, Berg was named as the head coach of the Italian cricket team and still continues to play for them.^[3]

Gareth Berg

Berg in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Gareth Kyle Berg
Born	(1981-01-18) 18 January 1981 (age 43) Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa
Nickname	Fossil,Batman,Ice, Bergy, The Iceberg
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium-fast
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	Italy (2012–2023)
T20I debut (cap 16)	15 October 2021 v Denmark
Last T20I	20 July 2023 v Ireland
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2001/02–2002/03	Western Province B
2004	Northamptonshire
2007–2014	Middlesex
2015–2019	Hampshire (squad no. 13)
2019	→ Northamptonshire (on loan)
2020–2023	Northamptonshire
Head coaching information
Years	Team
2020-present	Italy
Career statistics
Competition T20I FC LA T20 Matches 19 152 116 113 Runs scored 153 5,565 1,617 1,236 Batting average 19.12 28.10 22.15 21.31 100s/50s 0/0 2/31 0/7 0/3 Top score 39* 130* 75 90 Balls bowled 318 20,133 4,266 1,939 Wickets 20 321 124 94 Bowling average 16.45 31.57 28.87 26.51 5 wickets in innings 0 7 2 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 4/14 6/56 5/26 4/14 Catches/stumpings 6/– 75/– 44/– 30/–
Source: CricInfo, 25 August 2024

Career

Berg's career began at Western Province where he appeared in a handful of one day matches, before moving to England where he signed with Northamptonshire, playing second XI cricket for the county. He signed with Middlesex in 2007, again playing in the second XI before breaking into the first team in 2008, making his List A debut against Surrey at the Oval and his First Class debut a few days later at Lord's against Glamorgan. He received his county cap in 2010.^[4]

He played for Italy in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers.^[5] In May 2019, he was named in Italy's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier tournament in Guernsey.^[6]

On 30 August 2019, it was confirmed that Berg would join Northamptonshire on loan for the remainder of the 2019 season, ahead of a permanent move from 2020 onwards. In November 2019, he was named in Italy's squad for the Cricket World Cup Challenge League B tournament in Oman.^[7] In September 2021, he was named as the captain of Italy's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the Regional Final of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier tournament.^[8] He made his T20I debut on 15 October 2021, for Italy against Denmark.^[9]

He announced his retirement from professional cricket in September 2023^[10] although he has continued to play for Italy.

References

1. "Associate player roundup from Round 2 of the Bob Willis Trophy". Emerging Cricket. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
2. "Gareth Berg profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
3. "Gareth Berg named playing head coach of Italy". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
4. "Middlesex County Cricket Club". Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
5. Andrew Nixon (5 February 2012). "Middlesex all-rounder Gareth Berg in Italy squad". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
6. "Squads announced for ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Final 2019". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
7. "ICC Calling Cricket World Cup Challenge League group B" (PDF). Federazione Cricket Italiana. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
8. "Jade Dernbach set to play for Italy". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
9. "2nd Match, Almeria, Oct 15 2021, ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Region Qualifier". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
10. "Gareth Berg: Northamptonshire all-rounder to end 16-year professional career". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 August 2024.

External links

• Gareth Berg at ESPNcricinfo