Sean Michael Ervine (born 6 December 1982) is a Zimbabwean former
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er. Ervine played as an all-rounder who batted left-handed and bowled right-arm
medium pace.
Ervine was born at
Harare
Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
in
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
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
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. He subsequently made his way to England, playing for
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Hamp ...
between 2005 and 2018. In September 2018, he retired from all forms of cricket.
[Ex-Zimbabwe international Sean Ervine retires from the game]
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
, 2018-09-02. Retrieved 2018-09-02. After retiring from cricket, he took up
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
, with the aim to qualify for the
MENA Golf Tour. 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
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
debut for CFX in the
Logan Cup
The Logan Cup is the premier domestic first-class cricket competition in Zimbabwe and is organised by Zimbabwe Cricket. It is named after James Douglas Logan.
History
The first recorded cricket match in what was known at the time as Rhodesia w ...
in March 2001.
Ervine was educated at
Lomagundi College. After leaving Zimbabwe in 2005 he signed to play for
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Hamp ...
in English
county cricket and for
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
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.
[Sean Ervine]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
. Retrieved 2018-09-02.[Ervine considering his Test options]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
, 2005-09-04. Retrieved 2018-09-02. His time in Australia was less successful and he was unable to hold down a place in the Western Australia team,
[Zimbabwe stars find life tough in Australia]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
, 2004-10-27. Retrieved 2018-09-02. although he became a regular in county cricket for Hampshire.
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.
[Hampshire to field just one overseas player in Twenty20]
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...
, 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2018-09-02. 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
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
on loan but retired after just two matches with the team.
[Sean Ervine makes his 'biggest decision' and calls time]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
, 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
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.
[Sean Ervine]
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. In the 2009 Friends Provident Trophy, Ervine scored his highest List-A score of 167 not out against Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Ervine was later a member of Hampshire's winning squad in the final as they defeated Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
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.[Ervine signs for Matabeleland]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
, 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2018-09-02. On debut for Southern Rocks, he made scores of 208 and 160, his two highest innings in first-class cricket at the time.[Southern Rocks v Mid West Rhinos]
Scorecard, CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
. Retrieved 2018-09-02. Later the same year, he scored 237 not out against Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
playing for Hampshire.
International career
Ervine made his debut for Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
in October 2001 in a One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
against England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. 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
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and 86 and 74 against Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
.
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
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
when he scored a century before being run out for 100 during an ultimately unsuccessful run-chase at the Adelaide Oval.[Laxman seals a thriller]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
, 2004-01-24. Retrieved 2018-09-02. Batting with Stuart Carlisle, Ervine contributed to what was Zimbabwe's highest partnership for any wicket in ODIs, putting on 202 runs between them.
Ervine was one of the 15 rebel cricketers in dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and left the country in 2004.[Sean Ervine announces retirement]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
, 2004-05-15. Retrieved 2018-09-02. 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.[Ervine pulls out of World Cup squad]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
, 2011-01-26. Retrieved 2018-09-02.[I made the right decision, insists Ervine]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
, 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
Family
Ervine's father Rory and uncle Neil both played first-class cricket for Rhodesia B in the 1977/78 Castle Bowl competition[Rory Ervine]
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. and another uncle, Gordon Den, played for Rhodesia and Eastern province in the 1960s.[Gordon Den]
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02. 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.[Alexander Den]
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
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.[Craig Ervine]
CricInfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
. Retrieved 2018-09-02. Another brother, Ryan played domestic limited overs cricket in Zimbabwe in 2009/10[Ryan Ervine]
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ervine, Sean
1982 births
Living people
Cricketers from Harare
Alumni of Lomagundi College
White Zimbabwean sportspeople
Zimbabwean people of British descent
Zimbabwean emigrants to the United Kingdom
Zimbabwean cricketers
Zimbabwe One Day International cricketers
Zimbabwe Test cricketers
21st-century Zimbabwean sportsmen
Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
CFX Academy cricketers
Midlands cricketers
Hampshire cricketers
Western Australia cricketers
Southern Rocks cricketers
Mountaineers cricketers
Matabeleland Tuskers cricketers
Rajshahi Royals cricketers
Zimbabwean expatriate cricketers in Bangladesh
Brothers Union cricketers
Partex Sporting Club cricketers
Quetta Gladiators cricketers
Expatriate cricketers in Pakistan
Derbyshire cricketers
Zimbabwean expatriate cricketers in England