Sean Ervine

Sean Michael Ervine (born 6 December 1982) is a Zimbabwean former cricketer. Ervine played as an all-rounder who batted left-handed and bowled right-arm medium pace.

Sean Ervine

Sean Ervine (right) and Dominic Cork hold aloft the 2009 Friends Provident Trophy
Personal information
Full name	Sean Michael Ervine
Born	(1982-12-06) 6 December 1982 (age 41) Harare, Zimbabwe
Nickname	Siuc, Slug
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right arm medium
Role	All-rounder
Relations	Craig Ervine (brother)
International information
National side	Zimbabwe (2001–2004)
Test debut (cap 57)	22 May 2003 v England
Last Test	1 March 2004 v Bangladesh
ODI debut (cap 67)	10 October 2001 v England
Last ODI	14 March 2004 v Bangladesh
ODI shirt no.	14
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2001	CFX Academy
2001/02–2003/04	Midlands
2005–2018	Hampshire (squad no. 7)
2006/07–2007/08	Western Australia
2009/10	Southern Rocks
2010/11	Mountaineers
2011/12–2012/13	Matabeleland Tuskers
2012–2013	Duronto Rajshahi
2013	Brothers Union
2014	Partex Sporting Club
2017	Quetta Gladiators
2018	→ Derbyshire (on loan)
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 5 42 229 251 Runs scored 261 698 11,390 5,716 Batting average 32.62 25.85 36.15 29.92 100s/50s 0/3 1/2 22/57 7/27 Top score 86 100 237* 167* Balls bowled 570 1,649 20,452 7,564 Wickets 9 41 280 206 Bowling average 43.11 38.07 42.50 34.40 5 wickets in innings 0 0 5 2 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 4/146 3/29 6/82 5/50 Catches/stumpings 7/– 5/– 196/– 77/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2 September 2018

Ervine was born at Harare in Zimbabwe and played for his country in the 2003 Cricket World Cup but became one of the cricketers who rebelled against the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and left the country in May 2004 for a new life in Australia. He subsequently made his way to England, playing for Hampshire County Cricket Club between 2005 and 2018. In September 2018, he retired from all forms of cricket.^[1] After retiring from cricket, he took up golf, with the aim to qualify for the MENA Golf Tour.^[2] He is currently playing for Minster (Sheppey) Cricket Club.

Domestic career

Ervine originally played for the short-lived CFX Academy team and then Midlands cricket team in Zimbabwe. He made his first-class cricket debut for CFX in the Logan Cup in March 2001.^[3]

Ervine was educated at Lomagundi College. After leaving Zimbabwe in 2005 he signed to play for Hampshire County Cricket Club in English county cricket and for Western Australia in Australian domestic cricket. Ervine declared that he would not return to play for the Zimbabwean national side and, following excellent form for Hampshire and Western Australia, Ervine announced that he would seek to qualify for either English or Australian international representation.^[4][5] His time in Australia was less successful and he was unable to hold down a place in the Western Australia team,^[6] although he became a regular in county cricket for Hampshire.^[4] Once he had committed to no longer playing for Zimbabwe he was able to play county cricket in England as a non-overseas player as he holds an Irish passport.^[7] He retired from professional cricket towards the end of the 2018 English cricket season. After finding his opportunities to play limited at Hampshire he had joined Derbyshire on loan but retired after just two matches with the team.^[8]

During the 2009 County Championship season, Ervine scored 832 runs at an average of 41.60, making him Hampshire's fourth highest run scorer in the competition.^[3][9] In the 2009 Friends Provident Trophy, Ervine scored his highest List-A score of 167 not out against Ireland. Ervine was later a member of Hampshire's winning squad in the final as they defeated Sussex by six wickets.

Later in his career, Ervine returned to Zimbabwean domestic cricket with the Southern Rocks in 2010 before going on to play for Mountaineers and Matabeleland Tuskers.^[3][10] On debut for Southern Rocks, he made scores of 208 and 160, his two highest innings in first-class cricket at the time.^[11] Later the same year, he scored 237 not out against Somerset playing for Hampshire.

International career

Ervine made his debut for Zimbabwe in October 2001 in a One Day International against England. He was a member of the 2003 World Cup squad and ever-present during the England tour later that year. He had begun to show signs of maturing into a genuine international player with his last three Test innings all half centuries, 53 against Australia, and 86 and 74 against Bangladesh.

He played 42 one-day internationals, scoring a total of 698 runs at a batting average of nearly 26 and taking 41 wickets. Arguably his best moment in international cricket came in the 2003–04 VB Series in Australia against India when he scored a century before being run out for 100 during an ultimately unsuccessful run-chase at the Adelaide Oval.^[12] Batting with Stuart Carlisle, Ervine contributed to what was Zimbabwe's highest partnership for any wicket in ODIs, putting on 202 runs between them.^[12]

Ervine was one of the 15 rebel cricketers in dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and left the country in 2004.^[13] It seemed he might make an unlikely comeback for the country at the 2011 World Cup when he was named in their squad for the tournament, having had some preliminary discussions about the possibility, but later pulled out, reversing his decision due to the financial security that a guaranteed county contract with Hampshire brought.^[14][15]

Family

Ervine's father Rory and uncle Neil both played first-class cricket for Rhodesia B in the 1977/78 Castle Bowl competition^[16][17] and another uncle, Gordon Den, played for Rhodesia and Eastern province in the 1960s.^[18] Den's father, Ervine's grandfather, Alexander Den is recorded as having made one appearance for Rhodesia against the touring Australian national side in 1936.^[19]

Ervine's brother, Craig is also a Zimbabwean international cricketer who has played Test, ODI and T20I matches for the country. Craig left Zimbabwe for 18 months from late 2013 but, unlike his brother, later made himself available again for the national side.^[20] Another brother, Ryan played domestic limited overs cricket in Zimbabwe in 2009/10^[21]

References

1. Ex-Zimbabwe international Sean Ervine retires from the game, International Cricket Council, 2018-09-02. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
2. "Ervine tees up second sporting career". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
3. Sean Ervine, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. (subscription required)
4. Sean Ervine, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
5. Ervine considering his Test options, CricInfo, 2005-09-04. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
6. Zimbabwe stars find life tough in Australia, CricInfo, 2004-10-27. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
7. Hampshire to field just one overseas player in Twenty20, BBC Sport, 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
8. Sean Ervine makes his 'biggest decision' and calls time, CricInfo, 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
9. Batting by runs, 2008 County Championship, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. (subscription required)
10. Ervine signs for Matabeleland, CricInfo, 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
11. Southern Rocks v Mid West Rhinos, Scorecard, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
12. Laxman seals a thriller, CricInfo, 2004-01-24. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
13. Sean Ervine announces retirement, CricInfo, 2004-05-15. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
14. Ervine pulls out of World Cup squad, CricInfo, 2011-01-26. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
15. I made the right decision, insists Ervine, CricInfo, 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
16. Rory Ervine, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. (subscription required)
17. Neil Ervine, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. (subscription required)
18. Gordon Den, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. (subscription required)
19. Alexander Den, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. (subscription required)
20. Craig Ervine, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
21. Ryan Ervine, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. (subscription required)

External links

• Sean Ervine at ESPNcricinfo