Many cricketers dream of representing their country at the international level. Some succeed at fulfilling their dreams, while others fall short of them.
However, there have been a bunch of cricketers who got the opportunity to represent 2 different countries in international cricket. And a few of them made their marks by scoring memorable centuries for 2 teams.
In this article, we’ll list the batters who have scored an international century for 2 countries.
1. Kepler Wessels | Australia and South Africa
Kepler Wessels was born in South Africa but made his international debut for Australia in November 1982. The southpaw batter scored a scintillating 162-run knock on his Test debut against England in Brisbane.
Wessels played for the Aussies till November 1985, scoring 1761 runs, including 4 centuries in Tests, and 1740 runs, including a hundred in ODIs.
After retiring from international cricket in 1985, the South African made a comeback and decided to represent his birth country in 1991. On his return to Test cricket, Wessels brought up his fifth Test hundred and first for South Africa in November 1992 against India.
With that, Kepler Wessels became the first cricketer to score a century for 2 different countries in international cricket. Later, he went on to represent South Africa until October 1994, accumulating 1027 Test runs, including 2 tons, and 1627 ODI runs, including 12 fifties.
2. Ed Joyce | England and Ireland
Ed Joyce turned up for his birth country, Ireland, and neighbouring country, England, in international cricket. The left-hand batter made his international debut for England in 2006, playing his first ODI against Ireland.
Joyce had a short stint for the English team, scoring 472 runs in 18 innings, including a ton (107 off 142) against Australia in 2007.
After a gap of 4 years, he donned the Irish jersey in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Joyce scored his maiden hundred (116* off 132) for Ireland in an ODI against Pakistan in 2013.
He went on to represent his home country until 2018, amassing 2602 runs across formats.
3. Eoin Morgan | Ireland and England
Another Irishman on the list who represented Ireland and England in the international arena. Eoin Morgan had a 2-year stint with his birth country and went on to have a remarkable career with England, leading them to the 2019 World Cup triumph.
Morgan made his international debut for Ireland in 2006 and fell short of a run from hitting a ton on his ODI debut. But he didn’t wait too long and brought up his maiden ODI hundred (115 off 106) in his fifth ODI against Canada in 2007.
The left-hander played for Ireland until April 2009 and, a month later, made his England debut. Morgan scored his first hundred (110* off 104) for England against Bangladesh in 2010.
Also Read | List: Cricketers to Play 100+ Matches in Each Format
4. Mark Chapman | Hong Kong and New Zealand
Mark Chapman holds dual citizenship in Hong Kong and New Zealand, as he was born to a Hong Kongese mother and a New Zealander father. He started playing cricket for Hong Kong at a young age, making it to the under-19 team.
Chapman made his international debut for Hong Kong in the 2014 T20 World Cup. He scored his only ODI hundred (124* off 116) on his debut against the UAE in 2015, making him the first Hong Kong batter to reach the triple digits.
After a short stay with Hong Kong, the left-hand batter received a call-up to the New Zealand squad in 2018. Chapman scored his maiden hundred (101* off 75) for the Kiwis in an ODI against Scotland in 2022.
5. Gary Ballance | England and Zimbabwe
Gary Ballance was born in Zimbabwe but moved to England at an early age. There, he picked up the sport and impressed everyone with his county championship outing for Yorkshire in 2013.
Soon, he found himself in the England squad and made his international debut in 2013 in ODIs. Ballance’s ODI career didn’t blossom, but he made a mark in Tests, bringing up his maiden century (104* off 188 vs Sri Lanka) for England in 2014.
The left-hand batter had a remarkable run for England for about a year but soon fell out of contention due to poor form.
After a long hiatus from international cricket, Ballance returned to represent his birth country in 2023, though he only played 7 matches across formats.
In his only Test for Zimbabwe, he scored an unbeaten 137 runs against the West Indies, making him only the second batter to score a Test hundred for 2 teams after Kepler Wessels.
6. Joe Burns | Australia and Italy
Joe Burns is the latest entrant to etch his name on this list. He was born in Australia and got his baggy green in 2014.
Burns had a wonderful start to his career, hammering 3 hundreds in 10 Test matches. But he couldn’t sustain his form and had a start-stop career with Australia until 2020.
The right-hand batter returned to international cricket by representing Italy in the T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifiers in June 2024. It was an emotional decision for him, as he wanted to pay tribute to his late brother, who passed away in February 2024.
The former Australian batter made it to the Italian cricket team through his mother’s heritage. In his only fifth T20I match, Burns slammed an unbeaten 108 runs off 55 balls, helping Italy advance to the 2025 T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier.
Read Next | List: Batters to Hit 6 Sixes in an Over in International Cricket
Leave a Reply