Cricket is no stranger to players born in one country but choosing to represent another. Former England captain Andrew Strauss was born in South Africa, but represented England. Even Kevin Pietersen was born a Protea, but went on to have a successful career with England.
There are also players that have played for more than one country internationally. The likes of Eoin Morgan (Ireland and England) and Luke Ronchi (Australia and New Zealand)
Windies cricketer Hayden Walsh Jr. has now taken it a step further, representing both the United States of America and West Indies within a few months of each other! The 27-year-old cricketer is now slated to play the T20I series against India starting Friday.
Hayden Walsh Jr. was born on the U.S. Virgin islands, and thus has American citizenship. His father, Hayden Walsh Sr. was from Antigua and played domestic cricket under the West Indies banner.
Walsh Jr. was eligible to play for either nation, but initially chose to represent the nation of his birth. He made his T20I debut for the United States of America as a 26-year-old in 2018 and made his ODI debut 4 days after his 27th birthday. However, his debut came earlier this year in the month of March.
Walsh Jr. seemed to be carving out a successful career as a United States cricketer, and kept getting regular callups to the nation’s team until August 2019.
However, two months later, Walsh Jr. was making his debut for the West Indies national squad.
The 27-year-old all-rounder hasn’t done this secretly, in fact, his dual representation is a fact that is celebrated by both the West Indies cricketing body as well the United States.
Walsh himself has spoken about his time with the United States cricket team.
“I want to say a special thanks to everyone at USA Cricket and the team-mates in the USA team who made me feel welcomed while I played there. It was a good eye-opener to what it’s like on the international stage and it’s an experience I will cherish.”Hayden Walsh Jr.
What allowed Walsh to play for both countries within the span of a few months are odd eligibility rules laid down by the ICC. He was born in the Virgin Islands and thus is a U.S. Citizen, but moved back to his native Antigua within a few month, thus becoming a dual-citizen.
Selection in the West Indies team wasn’t going to be easy, so Walsh Jr. used his American citizenship to enter the American team and helped them gain ODI status in early 2019.
His performances for the Barbados Tridents in the Carribean Premier League 2019 earned him ‘Player of the Tournament’ and thus, a call-up to the country he has always wanted to represent.
ICC rules say that a player who has played for a Full Member side must wait three years after their last match before playing for an Associate team. However, if a cricketer plays for an Associate team first, they can switch to a Full Member team the next day
The United States cricket team is still considered an associate, while the West Indies are full members. This allowed Walsh Jr. to make the switch with ease. If he had played for West Indies and then chose to play for the USA, he would have had to wait three years to fulfil the eligibility criteria.
There are other players that have switched nations in a similar way. Eoin Morgan helped the Ireland team qualify for the 2011 World Cup, but went into the World Cup representing England.
Jofra Archer’s case created controversy earlier this year, with the English Cricket Board fast-tracking Archer’s eligibility so that he could compete in the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Cricket is full of players that have migrated between countries however, cases of players switching teams in the span of a few months are still rare and interesting.
Hayden Walsh jr. has to work hard to ensure a long run in the West Indies cricket team, or else he will have to put his national career on hold and wait three years before he can return to the US national team.
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