Date of birth – 14 March 1991 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire First Class Debut – 27 March 2011 v MCC (Abu Dhabi)
From good cricket stock (his uncle is Bruce French, the former Notts and England wicketkeeper), Jake Ball made his way through the county age groups to earn a first team debut in the pink ball Champion County match against the MCC in Abu Dhabi in 2011.
It wasn’t, however, until four years later that his appearances became more regular. Since then, he has pushed his haul of red ball wickets past the 200 mark, as well as taking the first home hat-trick by a Nottinghamshire player since the turn of the century.
That performance came at Trent Bridge in 2016 as he ripped through the Middlesex top order, leaving the champions-elect 0-3 in the first over.
Ball’s performances propelled him into the thoughts of the England selectors that year. He made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s and went on to earn a spot on that winter’s tours of Bangladesh and India.
He took 5-51 and won player-of-the-match honours on his ODI debut against Bangladesh and he has represented England on 24 occasions across the three formats of the game, including an Ashes Test appearance in Brisbane in 2017.
Unfortunate injuries have denied him the opportunity of a couple of appearances in showpiece finals, as the Outlaws secured one-day cup wins in 2013 and 2017, but he shone for the side in their two recent T20 Blast triumphs.
Operating effectively across the powerplay, middle and death overs, Ball was also the tournament's leading wicket-taker in 2020.
His prowess in the domestic game didn’t go unnoticed Down Under and he played a starring role for Sydney Sixers as they lifted the BBL title in 2021, and he’s also featured in the opening two editions of The Hundred for Welsh Fire.