A South Africa-born cricketer finds himself in a situation like no other. We are talking about 30-year-old Cape Town-born Michael Rippon who moved to New Zealand in 2013. Then he made his international debut against his new home country, playing for Netherlands. Now as New Zealand tour Netherlands, he finds himself on the other side.
As the Blackcaps announced their squad squad for the upcoming tours to Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands, Rippon found his name in the squad who is also the first specialist left-arm wrist spinner picked in any format across 92 years of nation’s cricketing history.
Who is Michael Rippon?
Rippon moved to New Zealand from South Africa to play for domestic side Otago Volts. That was in 2013 after which he played 31 ODIs for the Netherlands for whom he also played against the Blackcaps as recently as March 2022.
How Can He Play for Two Teams?
He can play due to an ICC rule which states that a player can represent an Affiliate or Associate nation while still being available for selection by Full Members. However, if you have played for a Full Member, you can’t go back to play for the Associate nation before a three-year cooling-off period.
New Zealand will play three ODIs and three T20Is against Ireland from July 10, and then feature in two T20Is and a one-off ODI against Scotland in Edinburgh from July 27. They will then play two T20Is against Netherlands in the Hague on August 4 and 6.
“Michael Rippon thoroughly deserves his selection after consistent performances domestically for many seasons now,” selector Gavin Larsen said. “His left-arm wrist spin is a point of difference and he also offers some punch down the order with the bat.”
“We’ve got plenty of spin options in the squads and I’m sure both Michaels [Rippon and Bracewell] will relish the chance to rub shoulders with Mitch [Santner] and Ish [Sodhi] and learn off their experience.”
ODI squad for Ireland: Tom Latham (capt&wk), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Dane Cleaver (wk), Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young
Squad for Ireland T20Is, Scotland and the Netherlands series: Mitchell Santner (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner
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