A cricketer always aspires to represent his nation on the international platform someday. He puts all his efforts into realizing this dream. It is a very happy moment for a player when he is named to the national squad. But for some players, this is a short-lived honor. Many players migrate to other countries to either extend their careers or find better opportunities or for any other reason. It is never easy to start everything from scratch, but that defines passion. Here is the list of Top 10 Players who played cricket for two countries-
1. Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan is the most successful white-ball captain for England. In the 194 T20Is and ODIs, he has led England in; he has won 115 of them with a success rate of 59.27 %. He is the only player to score ODI centuries for two countries. Before moving to England he represented Ireland in 23 ODIs and scored 744 runs. He has 2 centuries and 3 fifties while playing for the Ireland U19 team. He has played the 2004 and 2006 U19 World Cups for Ireland before making his England debut in May 2009.
2. David Wiese
David Wiese was born in Roodepoort in South Africa on 18 May 1985. He rose through the ranks in the South African domestic circuit and made his international debut for the Proteas in a T20I match against Sri Lanka in 2013. In 26 white-ball matches he played for South Africa, he scored 194 runs and took 33 wickets. In 2017, he quit his South African career to play county cricket in England. In 2021 he played the T20 World Cup for Namibia, the birth-nation of his father.
3. Hayden Walsh Jr.
Hayden Walsh Jr. took birth in the US Virgin Islands, making him an American citizen. He made his international debut for the United States of America (USA) against UAE in a T20I in Dubai in 2019. He has 6 T20I wickets while playing for the USA. He made his West Indies debut in November 2019 in an ODI against Afghanistan. This made him the first player to play for West Indies after playing senior international cricket for another country.
4. Mark Chapman
Mark Chapman is a talented leftie all-rounder born in 1994 in Hong Kong. In 2015, he became the only Hong Kong batter to score a century in ODI debut when he hit 124* against UAE. In 21 international games he played for Hong Kong, he scored 543 runs and took 4 T20I wickets. He also played 6 matches for Hong Kong U19 and has 84 runs to his name. He was eligible to play for New Zealand as his father hailed from there. He made his ODI and T20I debuts for the Kiwis in 2018.
5. Roelof Van Der Merwe
Roelof van der Merwe hails from Johannesburg and started his international career with South Africa. He has played 13 ODIs and 13 T20Is for the Proteas, scoring 96 runs and taking 31 wickets. He played the 2004 U19 World Cup in the South African squad. In 2015, he got the passport of the Netherlands and was selected in the Netherlands squad for the 2015 ICC T20 World Qualifier. In 27 international innings for the Netherlands, he has scored 460 runs and has taken 42 wickets.
6. Luke Ronchi
Luke Ronchi is the only cricketer to have served both Australia and New Zealand. He made his international debut for Australia against West Indies in 2009. In his short limited-over cricket stint with Australia, he played 7 matches and scored 123 runs and inflicted 7 dismissals behind the wicket. In 2012 he announced his departure to New Zealand and made his ODI debut with the Kiwis in 2013. He was part of the New Zealand team that lost to Australia in the final of the 2015 ICC World Cup.
7. Ed Joyce
Ed Joyce took birth in Dublin (Ireland) in 1978. However, he qualified to play for England thanks to his residency there. Interestingly, he made his ODI debut for England against Ireland. In the 2007 T20 World Cup, he was named to the English squad. He shifted back to Ireland in 2011 and continued in the team till his retirement in 2018.
8. Boyd Rankin
Boyd Rankin is the only player to play in all three formats for two countries. He was blessed with a height of 6 feet 8 inches. He made his international debut for Ireland in an ODI against Bermuda in 2007. He then shifted to England, only to return to Ireland. In the 125 international matches he has played for both nations, he has taken 161 scalps. Interestingly, his best ODI figures of 4/46 came while playing for England against Ireland. He retired from international cricket in May 2021.
9. Dirk Nannes
Dirk Nannes was born in Melbourne and started his international career with the Netherlands in a T20I against England in 2009. His international career lasted just 17 months, in which he played 17 T20Is and one ODI. After playing just 2 T20Is for the Netherlands, he shifted his loyalty to Australia, where he earned the majority of his short-lived international success. He played 15 T20Is for Australia and scalped 27 wickets with the best figures of 4/18. After playing his last T20I in 2010 against Sri Lanka, he played franchise and domestic cricket.
10. Kepler Wessels
Kepler Wessels was born in Bloemfontein (South Africa) but started his international career for Australia in a Test match against England in 1982. After ICC lifted its anti-apartheid ban on South Africa in 1991, Wessels returned to his native country. In the Proteas’ first Test match after the lifting of the ban, Wessels was the only one in their playing XI who was not making his debut. Hence, he was named the captain of the team. He has the unique record of not having a single duck in 105 ODI innings.
