Nixon tips Ballance to be roaring success for Three Lions

Yorkshire seems the place to be if you have international ambitions right now with Root and Jonny Bairstow the latest off the production line to burst onto the England scene.

Ballance looks well placed to follow his team-mates after he picked up from where he left off in the last county season this time around. He scored 613 championship runs last year, including an unbeaten 121 as Yorkshire chased 400 against Gloucestershire, and is showing a rich vein of form this season, too.

The Zimbabwe-born batsman has racked up a century and three 50s in notching 314 runs, at an average of 44.85 – earning him a nomination for the LV= County Championship breakthrough player of the year award.

Ballance was nominated last year only to be beaten to the inaugural prize by team-mate Root. But Nixon believes the pair will become a fixture in the England set-up as they remind the former wicketkeeper of two of the greats – Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe.

“Gary is in a great place to be at Yorkshire because you have seen the likes of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow go through and run out for England and I am sure that Gary is not far behind,” said Nixon. “And when I see him and Joe Root bat together it reminds me of Graham Thorpe and Nasser Hussain because the communication and the talking is there between the two and they always seem to be in control and unfazed by it all. All he needs now is the sun to come out and the wickets to harden a bit and for him to keep doing what he is doing and I am sure he will be the latest off that Yorkshire production line.

“He is a good back-foot player and can drive the ball and, although he is young, he already has the maturity and that air of a senior player which in cricket is a great trait to have. He has a good technique and being from Yorkshire his technique would definitely please Geoffrey Boycott who would say ‘that is proper technique, that is’. He is a good fielder, too, and is full of energy and there is no question that he will have some lions on his shirt in the future.”

The fact that Ballance has already shown himself not to be a one-hit wonder or a sufferer of “second-season syndrome” only strengthens Nixon’s belief in him.

“Gary had a great year last year but has backed that up and that is the sign of a good player,” he said. “You are looking for players who can score back-to-back runs and Gary has proven that, which is a great sign. You don’t want someone who has one big year and then has a quiet two or three years. He scores consistent runs in all forms of the game and, for me, that is what it is all about. It is not good enough to do it in just one competition.”

Paul Nixon was speaking on behalf of County Championship title sponsors LV=. To Vote for your LV=County Championship breakthrough player, visit www.LV.com/cricket