Zafar Shahaan Ansari ( ur, ظفر انصاری; born 10 December 1991) is a former English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er who played for Surrey County Cricket Club and the England national team. A spin-bowling all-rounder, he bowled

left-arm orthodox spin Left-arm orthodox spin, Left-arm off spin also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of left-arm finger spin bowling in the sport of cricket. Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left-arm bowler using the fingers to spin ...

, and batted left-handed. He now works as a lawyer in London.

Background and education

Ansari is of Pakistani descent through his father, Professor

Khizar Humayun Ansari Khizar Humayun Ansari OBE is a British academic who was awarded an OBE in 2002 for his work in the field of race and ethnic relations. He is the director of the Centre for Minority Studies, at the University of London. Ansari's research focuses o ...

, who migrated from

Sukkur Sukkur (; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, and 14th largest city ...

, while his mother, Professor

Sarah Ansari Sarah Frances Deborah Ansari is a British professor of history at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is a specialist in the recent history of South Asia, and particularly Pakistan and the partition of India. Career Ansari's research intere ...

, is British. His older brother

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...

is a former county cricketer. Ansari was educated at

St John's Beaumont School St John's Beaumont School is an independent day and boarding Jesuit preparatory school, and is for boys aged 3 to 13 years old.Hampton School Hampton School (formerly Hampton Grammar School) is an independent boys' day school in Hampton, Greater London, England. It is regarded as one of the top independent schools in the country. Hampton School’s A-Level and GCSE results in 2021 ...

and read politics and sociology at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

, graduating with a

double-first The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

. In 2016, he completed a 40,000 word Masters dissertation on the 1960s American civil rights group, the

Deacons for Defense and Justice The Deacons for Defense and Justice was an armed African-American self-defense group founded in November 1964, during the civil rights era in the United States, in the mill town of Jonesboro, Louisiana. On February 21, 1965—the day of Malcolm ...

, being awarded his master's degree in history with Distinction at the end of the year by

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, ...

Cricket career

County cricket

Ansari made his Surrey debut against Sussex in September 2010 in a

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

match, before making his first-class debut for Cambridge MCCU against

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in April 2011. He had bowling figures of 5–33 in only his third first-class match, for Cambridge MCCU against his own county of Surrey,

Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England bet ...

being among his victims. He scored his maiden first-class century in 2014, for Surrey against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

. In Surrey's next first-class match, against Leicestershire, he had his first 5-wicket haul for the county with figures of 5-93.

International

Ansari made his

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...

debut for England against Ireland on 8 May 2015, in a game which was eventually abandoned due to rain. On 15 September 2015, he was announced as a member of the 16-man England squad visiting the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

the following month to play three

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. However, on the same day that the announcement was made he dislocated his thumb when fielding against

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

and, as a result, was replaced in the England team by

Samit Patel Samit Rohit Patel (born 30 November 1984) is an English cricketer. A right-handed batsman and a slow left-arm bowler, he plays first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Patel made his One Day International debut for England ...

. Ansari was selected as a member of the England touring party to Bangladesh and India in 2016–17, and made his Test debut for England in the second Test against Bangladesh on 28 October. He took figures of 0–36 in the first innings, and made 13 with the bat. In Bangladesh's second innings he took 2-76, although he was out for a duck in England's second innings as they lost by 108 runs. Ansari played in the first two Tests against India. In the first Test, he made 32 in England's first innings total of 537. He took figures of 2–77 in India's first innings, before picking up another wicket in the second innings, although England were unable to force a victory. In the second Test he did not take a wicket, and was out for a duck in England's second innings as England lost the Test by 246 runs. A back injury prevented him from playing any further part in the tour.

Retirement

On 26 April 2017, at age 25, Ansari announced his retirement from professional cricket with immediate effect. He did not regard himself as a super-successful cricketer, such as

Joe Root Joseph Edward Root, (born 30 December 1990) is an English international cricketer, who plays for the England Test and One Day International (ODI) teams, and formerly captained the Test team. He also represents Yorkshire in English domestic ...

Moeen Ali Moeen or Moein or Moien is a given name and surname. It is a Quranic name which means: helper, supporter, or provider of refuge. Notable persons with the name include: Persons with the given name * Moein (singer) (born 1951), Iranian singer * M ...

, so retirement did not feel like he was giving up something. He stated he had always maintained that cricket was just one part of his life, and that he had other ambitions that he wanted to fulfil. Ansari had a wide worldview and interests. Two years after retiring from cricket he said "On a day to day basis I think I’m a happier person."

Career after cricket

Since cricket, he has worked for "Just for Kids Law, a legal charity supporting young people with immigration, housing or school issues" and

Inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a co ...

. In 2021 he was appointed as one of the five members of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket set up by the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, ...

to tackle racism in the sport. Ansari was called to the bar in 2021 and practices at

Blackstone Chambers Blackstone Chambers is a set of barristers' chambers in the Temple district of central London. Established in the 1950s, as of 2022 it had 119 tenants, of whom more than 50 are silks. Current notable members include Robert Anderson, Michael B ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Zafar 1991 births Living people People from Ascot, Berkshire English cricketers England Test cricketers England One Day International cricketers Surrey cricketers Cambridge MCCU cricketers English people of Pakistani descent People educated at Hampton School Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers British Asian cricketers British sportspeople of Pakistani descent Zafar British people of Sindhi descent