Craig Ervine

Brother of Sean Ervine, Craig Ervine, hails from a family with strong cricketing roots - his father and uncle both played First-Class cricket and his younger brother Ryan has turned out for the Southern Rocks franchise.

Spells with English clubs Bexhill and Lordhood, and a spell with Irish club Lisburn in Belfast ensured that he got sufficient match practice and he returned to Zimbabwe, and signed up for the Southern Rocks. He was their leading run-scorer with 575 runs at 33.82 and topped their ODI run charts as well.

He was selected for the 2010 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and soon made his ODI debut against India in the same year. A talented middle-order batsman, Ervine like his brother, is a solid accumulator of runs. He relies on placing the ball in the gaps and runs hard between the wickets. Ervine had a pretty good 2011 World Cup, but despite his efforts, his side couldn't reach the knock-out stages of the competition.

He also featured in the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka but failed to make much of an impact. Just like any other Zimbabwe cricketer, Craig Ervine's career has suffered several bouts of inconsistency.

Ervine chose to leave Zimbabwe in 2013, citing financial insecurity, and secured an Irish passport using his great grandfather’s connection. He played for Northern Knights - an Irish franchise team, and then had a stint at Perth where he tried his hand at club cricket in Australia.

However, Ervine made himself available for selection for Zimbabwe once again ahead of the 2015 World Cup, and was picked for that tournament. He was the third highest run getter for Zimbabwe in WC 2015 and scored a crucial 42 against UAE in what was their only win of the tournament.

Ervine has since been a constant feature of the Zimbabwe side, playing all formats. In 2017, Ervine’s crowning moment in whites arrived as he scored a superb century at the R Premadasa Stadium, but despite that Zimbabwe couldn’t win that match.

Having become a senior member of the side, Ervine was handed over captaincy in February 2020, firstly in Tests where he captained in a one off game against Bangladesh. In 2021, he was handed over the reins of limited overs captaincy as well, taking over from Sean Williams.

Interesting fact: Ervine suffered a freak accident when he was in his early teens. He slipped and fell on a piece of broken glass and it required a three hour corrective surgery on his right hand. Initial diagnosis suggested an amputation, but thankfully that wasn't required.