Cricketers who played for multiple countries
Sportspersons representing multiple franchises is common, but the controversy meter - and the curiosity aspect - blows up ten-folds when they end up representing two different countries. Today, we are going to be looking at cricketers who played international cricket for multiple countries.
Kepler Wessels (Australia and South Africa)
On 10 November, 1991, Kepler Wessels became the first cricketer in the history of the game to play ODI cricket for two different countries. Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Wessels was drafted by Kerry Packer to play for the Australian World Series Cricket Team. After scripting impressive performances and deciding to stay back in Australia, the left-hander qualified to play Test cricket for Australia, for who he played 24 Tests and 54 ODIs before moving back to his land of birth to represent South Africa in international cricket. Wessels led a new-look South African side in the 1992 World Cup and, after representing the Proteas for two years, announced his retirement in 1994.
Eoin Morgan (Ireland and England)
Eoin Morgan will be forever remembered as the first ever man to lead England to a World Cup title, but that will not erase the significant past he had with Ireland. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Morgan represented Ireland in 26 ODIs between 2006 to 2009, before moving on to England to pursue his dream of playing Test cricket. And to be fair to Morgan, the now-England skipper always was open about his intentions of playing cricket for England someday. His increasing involvement in the county circuit - with Middlesex - and his appearances as 12th man for the English side made it evident that a switch to the Three Lions was going to be inevitable, and on 24 May, 2009, Morgan represented England for the first time. He has, since, played 16 Tests for England and has led them to their first ever 50-over World Cup title.
Luke Ronchi (Australia and New Zealand)
Having established himself as a veteran in the Western Australian setup, it wasn’t until 2013, at the age of 32, that Ronchi decided to make the switch to New Zealand, his country of birth. An aggressive wicket-keeper batsman who was always behind Gilchrist and Haddin in the pecking order, Ronchi made his Australia debut in 2008 against West Indies and even scored an astonishing 28-ball in 64 in just his second ODI. However, lack of opportunities meant that he decided to move to New Zealand and fascinatingly, the keeper ended up having an extraordinarily successful career with the Kiwis, one that included playing 4 Tests, posting an ODI high score of 170* and also reaching a World Cup Final.
Roelof van der Merwe (South Africa and Netherlands)
Born in Johannesburg, a 25-year-old Roelof van der Merwe became an instant cult hero back in 2009, where he bamboozled the Aussies - first with his spin and then with his absurd power and uncanny ability with the bat. He then became a mainstay in the Proteas limited-overs setup and even represented them in two World T20s, but soon, after the emergence of Imran Tahir and due to various other issues, went out of favour. Thus, in 2015, the left-arm spinner decided to make the switch to Netherlands and since making his debut, has been a vital cog in the Dutch side. Van der Merwe has already played 30 T20Is for the Netherlands and his consistency with the ball and handy contribution with the bat were one of the main reasons for the side sealing a berth in the WT20 in Australia that will kick off in October 2020.
Xavier Marshall (West Indies and United States of America)
An aggressive batsman who had a reputation of having the ability to tonk the ball, Xavier Marshall made his ODI and Test debut for the West Indies at just the age of 19. The right-hander, for a good while, was a mainstay in the Windies side that comprised the likes of Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul but unfortunately was not able to do justice to his talent with his performances. By 2009, he was completely phased out of the Windies set-up and this forced him to pursue a dream elsewhere, United States of America (USA) to be precise. Marshall made his USA debut on 15 March, 2019, and has since been the nucleus of the side.
Notable mentions
Ed Joyce - England and Ireland
Dirk Nannes - Netherlands and Australia
Ryan Campbell - Australia and Hong Kong
